Visual C++ Runtime Error: PC freezes for 5-20 seconds

Hi, I have a problem where my PC freezes for short periods (5-20 seconds) and the sound continues in the background. I am able to move the mouse and if I input commands, it will kind of queue them up and then input them after the freeze.

I am thinking it is the graphics card:
GTX 285

When I go to NVIDIA control panel and select update drivers, it gives me this error:
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime error: application has requested the Runtime to terminate in an unusual way.

Nvidia site wont auto detect card for driver update. It says manual lookup of driver unavailable at this time.

Current Driver: 9.18.13.697

Device Manager uses auto web lookup and says it's most recent driver.

I have seen threads about C++ Runtime error causing lots of problems, but no real info on my specific issue or how to generally fix the issue.

ALSO: I am simply guessing the C++ error is the cause of this, I would give anything to stop my PC from freezing so often!

Thanks