New info
Ok, there are some things I couldn't solve and others that I should tell you about so that you can have a better understanding of what might be happening with my laptop
As far as the drivers ar concerned:
-the audio driver is the latest on hp.com, so I don't know where to find a newer one.
-i have searched on the intel site for 'intel management engine interface', and (I know this sounds stupid) I don't know which one to pick

I've got no criterion. I do know that I shouldn't choose the desktop motherboard
The laptop isn't that old (8530p) so I don't understand how those ricoh card readers might be obsolete hardware. I've downloaded the xp drivers from the hp.com in the Windows 7 Ultimate 64 section, so this is a little strange. I don't really understand how they ended up being 'xp drivers' and not windows 7 drivers

I followed the microsoft windows compatibility link, but (this should sound stupid, too) I don't really understand how to download drivers that might be compatible with my hardware.
As far as my laptop symptoms are concerned, you should also know that my laptop sometimes freezes slowly for apparently no reason (by 'freezes slowly' I mean that everything freezes, but I can move my pointer for some time and maybe click on some windows and then it stops responding completely - this happens in a matter of tens of seconds, or sometimes less). I have realised that this sometimes happens when I unplug my charger (I don't know if this is the correct word for it). I did it once by mistake and my computer completely freezed. So technically windows doesn't "know" there's an issue and I don't get the blue screen (which might have been adequate)
Moreover, sometimes, when I close the lid (closing the lid only makes the screen go blank) and the drive guard is activated and I walk a little with it in my hand it can't recover from the blank screen when I open it back.
For now I think I won't do any more changes (with the exception of the drivers) so that I can make sure it behaves similarly in the future (blue screen, freeze, etc.) and then I'll start with uninstalling nod32 (isn't the microsoft essential antivirus a commercial product? I have a licence for nod32, so this is why i'm asking) and maybe changing my ram with another one or moving the dim from one slot to the other.
Anyway, I will be waiting for your advice first of all, and thank you for the assistance that you've provided me
