I have had version 8 since it came out. It was working like a charm. Suddenly it started acting wacky. I won't get into it, but certain programs would not work. It got me thinking about all the software I have added since my purchase. Just different programs, some freeware, some trialware. No hardware changes that I can think of. Well make a long story short, decided it was time to do a total recovery of my HP Pavilion. My computer is back to running fast and smooth and my EMC 8 is running awesome! I never thought it was Roxio causing my problems, I figured it was all the other crap that screwed it up. I guess I was right.

I have heard of cases where trial versions of a program caused problems when it expired. Maybe something to do with whatever the program does to disable using it, once the trial period expires.

Did the same as you but with an E-Machine. After full format and recovery v-7 and 8 work flawless ever since. I do believe its because now I run several different programs (freeware) that help keep the spyware and stuff off. When the Guru's say check for ad-ware and spyware you can believe it.

A lot of the freeware come w/ adware/spyware that can cause problems. I'll bet this was your problem.