Windows 7 I can't figure out why certain programs keep freezing.

[bibliophibian]

I'm at my wit's end here. Sometimes the computer will randomly enter a condition where almost EVERYTHING breaks down simultaneously. Any Shockwave applications on my browser crash, iTunes crashes, sound stops playing, my gaming programs like Steam crash, and Freecell crashes too. On the other hand, I've found that Pidgin and AIM still work, as well as MSWord and MSPaint. And my browsers still run, but I have to manually shut down Shockwave every time I access a new page, or else the browser crashes after about ten seconds.

I've found that this occurs randomly, although it is certain to happen if I either unplug my headphones or plug them in.

I've read the above topics and I checked Event Viewer and nothing significant comes up.

Back when I ran Vista, I had the same headphone problem, but instead of individual programs freezing, the entire computer would just lock up.

I could really use help. If you need more information, ask for it with specific instructions (I'm not fantastic with computer jargon) and I'll get it, because I really, really want this fixed.

Thanks.