Computer Upkeep Options

[Mommy]

Been having some strange issues with my desktop. Trying to avoid reformat/reinstall because I want XP, and I don't have access to a legal copy of it. Don't want to do the whole download from torrent crap. I think that's what caused the problem in the first place... downloading programs from torrents (not XP though. This is a legal copy I had a friend put on here.)

I'm open to suggestions... yes, even from Impala. I just want to know what tests any of you suggest.

Also, on a sidenote, does anyone know how to completely remove trial software from Adobe (I downloaded Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and InDesign). I do not want want to lose InDesign. I have a full version of that now. I tried the procedures listed on Adobe's site for removing Photoshop, but it removed crucial files needed to run InDesign. My god, their files are all over the place... The registry, everywhere. If all else fails, I could lose InDesign, but I would rather not.

Basically, I'm having 3 issues with my computer not including goofy error messages that sometimes pop up on startup. They are:

1) CD Drive will not read music cd's from stores or computer software. It will read and write on blank discs though. I have not tested DVD's. I did somehow get it to install NERO a few weeks back, but I don't know if that was before or after the issue began.
2) Screen tearing when my husband is playing WoW. Also, video card is running hot.
3) Random shutdowns while playing WoW
4) iTunes keeps uninstalling itself or doing other retarded shit (which doesn't suprise me). When I re-installed it this last time, it said "iTunes cannot open because there is a problem with your audio configuration. Umm.. My sound is working fine. My husband uses iTunes for his iPod. Sidenote: I still hate Macs.

These are the tests I have run:

1) Downloaded AVG free antivirus software and removed all found threats. Nothing looked that bad though.
2) Ran a read/write test through Sony on my CD Drive. Also, I re-installed the drivers through the site.
3) Currently scanning my computer with TrendMicro Internet Security. I downloaded the free trial. I have been really impressed with TrendMicro's free online scan, but for some reason, I couldn't get it to run using IE or Firefox. I downloaded the 30 day free trial of their purchase software. That is running now.
4) Ran Hijack This and cleaned all that up
5) Ran Systinternals Process Explorer to see what all svchost.exe files were running on my processes. From what I can tell, everything is legitimate.
6) Made a bootable disc through Microsoft to check the functionality of my RAM. About to do that once my system scan completes. Also downloaded Ram DEF 26XT to defrag my RAM
7) Re-installed the video drivers for my video card, but my computer didn't like that.
8) Removed video card and cleaned the heat sync fan thoroughly. It was pretty dirty. The fan still runs noisy and the video card gets hot, but some screen tearing disappeared.
9) Bought a new video card. Screen tearing stopped, but computer restarted again within 2 minutes of starting up WoW.
10) Restored to an earlier date several times... each time with it fucking things up more

I just think it's fishy that I would have all that hardware fail. The RAM is only a little over a year old. The old video card is like 4 years old, but it's a top of the line $400 card. It works better than a lot of the newer ones out there (minus the screen tearing that started occurring out of nowhere). The CD Drive is like 3 years old.

My guess is, I do need a new video card. Something software related is causing the dumping of the RAM which causes the restarts. I have no earthly clue what the hell is up with the CD Drive.

I do have a backup battery, but the electricity went out the other day, and I noticed it's only lasting about 30 seconds now if the power doesn't come back on. I doubt that power fluctuations could be causing the hardware issues though because it is sending consistent power... and, well, my hard drives are working just fine.

Any other software tools that are free that any of you recommend for cleaning up my system. I just want to be sure it's not software related before I go out and purchase new hardware. Last resort, though, is reformat/reinstall. I would rather buy new hardware and test that on the system before doing a clean sweep on my system. All the hardware I am having problems with, I can purchase from Best Buy and return if it doesn't solve the problem.

[impala454]

- CD drive not playing music: Go to device manager and right click your CD/DVD drive and go to properties, then click the properties tab and make sure the "enable audio" checkbox is checked and that the volume is all the way up.

- Video card problems: What card was having the problem and what card did you buy? Did you try running the PC open so you could look and verify that the fan was actually running? Video cards do run very hot in normal operation. If you install new video card drivers, try un-installing the old ones first.

- WoW crashing: Try and shut off any and all virus scanning/firewall software and see if it makes a difference. WoW will sometimes see these as hacks. They also have a lot of info on their support forums. If the video card is getting very hot and you see tearing in the game though, that is most likely the issue.

- On all the other quirky stuff: What threats did AVG remove? It also sounds like you ran a lot of "system" related software to try to fix the issues. Lots of times those things can really mess up your system a lot more than they can help. Especially when you run a bunch of different ones from different companies.

Honestly IMHO format/reinstall is what I'd do. But since you don't want to, here's something that might help (will help anyone who's comp is running weird/lots of sw clogging up the system):

Go to start->run, type in msconfig and hit ok. Click the Services tab, then check the box that says "Hide All Microsoft Services". Now uncheck every box in the window. Then click the "Startup" tab and uncheck everything. Then click the main OK button and reboot. This will for the most part clean out all the junk that's starting up and background services you don't need. If you notice something like iTunes not working after this, just go back and look through the list and find that service and recheck it. I would strongly advise disabling all of them at first though as I mentioned.