Guys I figured out a big SOLUTION to my problem after installing the 1.3 patch.. If you have need for speed underground 2.. the patch conflicts with that version of need for speed somehow and installed the updates on Underground 2 instead of most wanted.. got rid of underground 2 and reinstalled most wanted and installed the crack.. EVERYTHING WORKS GREAT!.. hope this helps anyone in the same situation!
I was having the same problems with speed.exe casuing and error or the gaming crashing to the desktop.. TRY IT OUT!