I developed the habit of posting about my computer problems here, not only to document them for myself, but also because the info might be useful for anyone who googles on a similar problem. I've done it a few times before, so let's tack this one onto the list.

My new computer works well overall, but I quickly noticed two problems which I suspected were related. Firstly, when starting up, my PC would delay on an empty desktop for about 30 seconds after the startup sound but before bringing up the taskbar and desktop icons. So it seemed like something was trying to load on startup but failing somehow. Secondly, my computer froze quite a bit - something I hadn't experienced much since I worked in Windows 98 on my mom's old 60mhz Compaq Presario years ago. Every time it froze, there was sound related. Twice while playing a game, twice while playing MPEGs in windows media player, once while listening to a mp3 in winamp, and even once when it played the email received tone as I was checking my email. And each time the game-related freezes happened, they were preceeded by loud static and pops. So I guessed that the problem was sound card related.

I called the number that CyberPower had provided me for tech support - a third-party company called 2netcorp. I left my name, phone number, and service number, and about an hour later I got a call back. The tech's name was Raphael, and he was a good guy. We ended up chatting about nonrelated stuff, and he actually asked my advice about some VB he was coding. His advice was to first download and run RegistryMechanic, which I did. It said it fixed eighty-something problems. Wow. Next, he had me run MemTest86, which I did overnight. That said everything tested out okay. At this point, I was still getting the restart delay. Crap. The third thing he'd recommended involved opening the case, which I really wasn't in the mood for Saturday, so in the meantime I fired up a game. Whoops! Game doesn't work. Oh, look - nearly nothing works. That registry mechanic frelled my machine. Luckily, there was a restore feature. I ran the backup and re-added the registry settings which RegistryMechanic had branded "invalid", which fixed things. StupidGay program.

Then, I decided yesterday to finally go through with the disassembly. So as directed, I uninstalled all my SoundBlaster Audigy software and drivers, opened the case and moved the sound card to another port, and then closed up the case. When I restarted, NO DELAY! So I reinstalled everything.

First problem: in order to open another slot at the back of the case, I had to essentially break off the metal flap that covered it - they weren't snap-on covers, they were attached by two small bits of metal, and as such were not reconnectable. This means that the port my sound card used to be in was now an open window for dust. I placed the spare metal flap back there as best I could and fixed it in place with a small piece of scotch tape, but it's not nearly as airtight as it should be.

Second problem: No sound. Maybe I did it wrong. After I restarted, the windows "Found new hardware" prompt came up, but I closed that since I was about to install the software myself. Maybe that was a mistake. After installing all the audigy software and downloading an updated driver, things still don't work. I'm awaiting a call back from tech support, but after the RegistryMechanic incident, I'll be skeptical of their advice.