Hey JD,
You know, we've actually got a unique opportunity here. This is actually a good thing that we have two separate users and systems with the same problem. I like where your headed with this, so I'm proposing that Numerobis and myself compare the applications we have installed. Aside from the obvious (3ds Max & Maxwell), there could be a few intersection points on that list that will help us troubleshoot this. Hopefully, the uninstall (and possible a run of cCleaner) for any such overlaps cleanly remove themselves when uninstalled. Granted, there could be some large overlaps like MS Office, but most likely, we'll find some more obvious candidates and we can focus on those.
In order to ensure that a program's system wide hooks would be removed, how would I truly validate that? Are the hooks generated in a "boot strap" process upon the application's executable files loading or system startup? Can they be injected and stored into the Windows registry? Are there any other places where they may reside?
Hey Numerobis,
I'll PM a full list of my applications and their versions to you and JD (and anyone else that would need to know). I'll include the list of all installed updates as well, but hopefully we don't have to get that specific on this "bug hunt". If you have any reservations about re-configuring your system or removing applications (I totally understand that time troubleshooting does not equal time getting getting paid), then I can do the system manipulation and testing on my end. I'm do for an OS reload anyway, so if I box myself into a corner, then I just know what I'll be doing this weekend
Thanks guys!