Anyway I recently formatted my hard drive and then installed fallout 3.
When I started up fallout it says without launching "application configuration is incorrect."
Probably did not install all your drivers. The motherboard ones are frequently overlooked as Windows has some that work generically on any Mobo to get the OS installed. So, we think things are fine until we play a game. Get them from the manufacturer's website. Pay attention to BIOS revision issues, if any, on an older board with those drivers. No need to throw a BIOS update onto a machine that was working before the OS wipe.