PC Help needed

[GoinAllTheWay]

I've gone through every avenue to try to solve a computer problem I'm having but no luck so far.

My situation:

Bought my current rig last summer, installed the RC of Win 7, thing ran like a top. Bought full version when I had to and am running into a few small problems and I cant figure out what is causing these freakin issues.

Examples of issues:
Battlefield BC just decided to stop working one day. Double click on it, get to the "play online" screen, click "play online" and I hour glass for a second or two and then nothing. Worked just fine the night before, hasn't worked since even after trying to re-install it a few times.

When I launch Outlook, I get an error message saying it's not the default email program. I checked options and it is indeed set as the default program.

When I launch iTunes, i get an error saying "C:?Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support/CoreVideo.dll is either not desgined to run on windows or it contains an error."

Clicking through the above errors results in the program running fine each and every time. It's more of an annoyance than anything but I would like it fixed.

Somtimes when I launch my browser, everything becomes completely unclickable. Only thing that works is the Windows button thankfully as logging off is the only way to get it to close.

I changed the power button (within the windows button) to have sleep as the default action. Sometimes the icon changes to "shut off" randomly and then switches back.

Not sure if this is still happening but I used to set my monitor to shut off after 10 mins. One night I tried to wake it up but it was frozen, re-starting resulted in the BSOD which I could never recover from without re-installing Windows. I have since set the monitor to go into screen saver mode instead so not sure if this is still an issue, to nervous to try again.

I have tried re-installing Win7 numerous times to no avail. I have tried replacing the hard drive as well as the RAM, issues keep coming back. Only thing left really is the MOBO but that would require a complete rebuild of my system and that's assuming that is where the problem lies. Figured I would consult the oracle before doing this.

So basically all my issues are minor annoyances (save BC not running and possibly getting the BSOD if I set my monitor to shut off) but I just cant figure out what would be causing it.

I am running:

Win 7 Ultimate
evga X58 SLI LE MOBO
6 gig of Corsair Dominator RAM (this is brand new as of today)
Dual 8800 GTS Video cards linked together via SLI
i7 Processor 2.67
1TB WD HD

Please help

[Rathji]

My first and only real advice is to Google every error message you get, check your event logs that coincide with the errors and check for causes/fixes through Google or http://www.eventid.net/ if that doesn't help you narrow down the problem I would be suprised.

The problem seems to be software or driver related based on the information you have given. Here are my random first impressions without actually giving it too much thought:

The monitor thing, I would check your hibernation and sleep settings. See if turning one or both of those off solves the problem. If it does then it will be easier to figure out what is up. I had similar problem with Vista when it first came out and I think it fixed itself with a driver update (maybe video?).

64 bit or 32 bit? I haven't have troubles with windows 7 64 bit like I do with Vista 64 bit, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was at least a partial cause. If this is the case, then it might be hardware related. This might also be a problem with the i7 processor or your specific mobo, have you Googled to see if there are any common issues?

Have you tried different install media? I don't remember if the downloadable technet install will work with a retail version. If it doesn't you could try and find someone else with a disc.

[zamler]

Go into your BIOS and underclock your CPU and RAM by a fair bit, and run your system, see if the problems still persist. You should also download and run Prime95. If your computer is unstable, that will show it very quickly.

And follow Rathji's advise, check your event viewer there will be valuable clues as to what is causing your problems.

[GoinAllTheWay]

I tried googling the error I was getting with iTunes. The body of the message read the same every time but the actual code seems to change each time (just noticed tonight).

With regards to the monitor, the computer is set to never sleep or hibernate. The monitor was the only thing to switch to standby.

Sorry, forgot to mention that part in my breakdown, it's a 64 bit system.

Do you figure there is any chance cooked video cards could cause random problems like this? Around the time I started getting these problems I can think of two events that occured around that time. I had a bad install of HTC connector software and I installed new vid card drivers. Those vid card drivers were pulled within a week as they apparently disabled auto fan control and cooked some peoples cards. Mine continued to work but they could have been damaged. I see some errors in games that weren't there before so that makes me wonder. As far as the connector software goes, I've reloaded the O/S numerous times, once onto a brand new HD.

I'll try that event ID thing, thanks for that.

Thing that blows my mind the most is this thing ran FLAWLESSLY on the release candidate, started getting problems shortly after buying the OS.

[cKy]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Thing that blows my mind the most is this thing ran FLAWLESSLY on the release candidate, started getting problems shortly after buying the OS.

Did you upgrade from the RC to the Full? Or did you do a format/clean install?

Installing on a clean partition is always the best way to go.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by cKy

Did you upgrade from the RC to the Full? Or did you do a format/clean install?

Installing on a clean partition is always the best way to go.

There is no upgrade path from RC to Retail.

[Hack&Lube]

Damaged videocard should have nothing to do with your issues. These all sound like software problems, perhaps as a result of malware damage.

Try starting BC from another EXE and not the launcher? Manually patch it to the latest version.

[JustAnotherGuy]

I googled a couple of your issues. It gets all confusing pretty quick but your 64 bit operating system might be confusing your 32 bit software.

[psicodude]

Check event viewer and see if you get any clues. Maybe your hard drive has some bad sectors?

Also, grab a heat monitoring program and make sure you are not over-heating. (RealTemp works pretty well).

I am assuming you know how to do all of this. Please reply if you don't and someone will surely give more detailed instructions.