I have the exact same problem 1.4 works fine then I load up with 1.5 it gets to the menu and crashes exactly as you said.
Intel® Core2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Resolution: 1680x1050