hey guys i dont often post (havnt had alot of time of late but...) posting to say i have the same issue i did read the entire thread so far and i have a dual core amd and a nvidia card and exactly the same issue after startup with gamex HOWEVER i have another issue when i play videos and then let one run back to the menu switch off my plasma then let it be awhile i come back rightclick back a menu select a new one and sometimes it will bluescreen the machine causing a total reboot NOW nothing has changed on my setup except for gameex updates and the shark codec pack ive checked my machine logs (not game ex) and found no info not even on the bluescreen as its so fast i cant even see what the bluescreen crash is saying before the reboot im at a loss on this one forgot to mention im using the standard animated theme (too lazy to make one at this point) oh and the forum lurker status suits my avatar pic so well dont you think? =p