[jabya]

I have been trying to chat (with audio) using yahoo messanger and Skype, on my Sony Vaio Laptop (P-IV, 2.66 Ghz, 448 MB ram; Windows XP - SP2). With Yahoo messenger the sound quality is very choppy and degrades with time. Using Skype, sound quality is very good (send and recieve), but the program eventually causes a hard crash (requires a hard reboot - ctrl-alt-del is ineffective). Chatting by typing and video works fine with both programs - indefinately, so it is definately an audio issue.

I have used task manager to observe the CPU usage while the audio was on, and noted that memory usage escalates gradually over about 5 minutes to 100%, at which point the system crash occurs. If I turn off the messanger programs before the crash - then CPU usage goes back down to ambient levels.

I have tried a number of things: disabled firewall and virus protection, adjust audio acceleration setting, upgrade audio driver (SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio), and Direct X to most recent version (9c), checked for hardware conflicts... etc.

Nothing has solved the problem. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would be most greatful.
-JB