Processes crash and spawn zombies before and after clean reinstall

Hi there
First forum post ever. I'm having a strange problem I can't seem to solve. several days ago my Laptop started displaying weird symptoms. executable files would lock and eventually crash. When the crash occurs the PC would slow down to an almost intolerable state. The crashed process (Chrome, Firefox, Word ,Steam, etc) would still be in the task manger. Attempting to kill the process would result in an access denied error. Process explorer would do the same thing. the crashed program would, at this point, to not be launcheable until a reboot occurs.
After several different malware/ antivirus scans (boot up and drive in another computer) several Memtest 86 run-throughs, a disk surface test. I decided to do a clean reinstall as the internet is devoid of solutions to this problem. Now after 2 DBAN passes and a clean reinstall with the original HP O/S media the problem is happening again. Currently the PC has a fresh install, all the current windows updates and firefox with the ADBlock plus extension.MSSE and Zonealarm firewall installed as well. Problem is also reproducible in safe mode. Plese help as this has now gone beyond my limited knowledge and is very aggravating.

So, After some frustration I stripped the Laptop of all unnecessary add ons. I removed the CD/DVD drive, the wireless card and all but one stick of RAM. The PC boots fine and operates as normal. After installing each extra piece one at a time and testing the PC it turns out that my wireless card has died. SO now I have a new question. Are these wireless cards interchangeable with other laptops or do I need a specific card for my laptop/brand?