1. DISABLE the CREATIVE SB AUDIGY device under the HARDWARE tab in CONTROL PANEL -->SOUNDS AND AUDIO DEVICES
2. REBOOT when asked
3. D/L (if you dont have them) the latest Web drivers : 'AUD2DRVL11030205.exe' (Pretty sure its the latest)
4. Use WinRAR or WinZip to open the file and extract all the files to a temporary directory.
5. Go into the directory with all the extracted files and open the DRIVERS folder
6. LAUNCH 'CTZAPXX.exe' and INSTALL the WDM drivers.
7. REBOOT when asked
8. RE-ENABLE the CREATIVE SB AUDIGY device under the HARDWARE tab in CONTROL PANEL -->Sounds and Audio Devices
**NOTE: If you check the version date & number of the driver now, it should read - Driver Date: 1/3/2003; Driver Version: 5.12.1.324.
If you dont have that version number, click the UPDATE DRIVER button and select "INSTALL FROM A LIST OR SPECIFIC LOCATION (ADVANCED)". Then select "DONT SEARCH..." option. Select the device driver that is the latest version, in this case being 5.12.1.324. Follow the directions to reboot.
9. If you want, REINSTALL the driver using 'AUD2DRVL11030205.exe' file. I did, just to be on the safe side. I didnt need any more hiccups.
I did testing using the Creative Diagnostics and everything worked out! No freezes, no hangups, nothing..... so far.
Hopefully this will work for those who have had similar problems that i was having. Good Luck.