I am running/trying to run an experiment that has 4 conditions on a single machine (Vista is the OS). In the beginning, ML runs through several questionnaires, and then it switches to DRT to do a timed sorting task, and then it switches back to ML to collect demographics. Without explanation, ML has been crashing during the first set of questionnaires--no consistent pattern, no specific questionnaire or item--on three of the four conditions I'm running (the control and two of the experimental conditions have failed at various times). The crashing is not consistent, itself; when testing it, I can't always get it to crash. However, it crashed on all my real subjects today and half of them on the previous couple of days I have been running. When it crashes, it goes to a blank light blue screen and I have to use Task Manager to stop it (ctrl+alt+right arrow doesn't work).

I have cleared out the data files so there's no conflict with subject numbers. I have tried running through all conditions and they all run at least some of the time (!). I'm wondering if this is a conflict between something else running on my operating system. I don't have any other windows open, but up till just now, the Sidebar was running, for one, and the computer occasionally searches for a wireless network, which I have also turned off. Any thoughts or suggestions? I could not find this exact problem elsewhere but I didn't make an exhaustive search.