EDIT: I thought you had left Swiv3d. Well, my little addition. Back to you.
Media Center, literally, cannot crash your PC. Only a failed driver can crash your PC.
So the most likely culprit is the Anti-virus you are using. Disable it, or uninstall it for testing (just to test the installation). If you downloaded MC from the JRiver site, as you say, it doesn't have any virus', adware, malware, bloatware, or anything liek that. It is a full version of MC that is just time limited.
If you are about to say "I don't have any Antivirus installed, well that would be bad, but if you are using Windows 10 64bit then you definitely do. It is called Windows Defender. But Defender doesn't typically causes crashes. Sometimes it does try to block MC though. In which case you need to
Tame Windows Defender.
So, if it isn't your Antivirus, then the other most likely causes are Graphics, Audio, and Motherboard drivers. Update them all to the latest for your laptop, unless you know there are issues with the latest.
If a System Restore didn't get rid of the failed MC installation, you have a lot more problems than MC. For goodness sake don't wipe and reinstall Windows for such a simple issue! Fix the problem.
Lot's of people have converted from iTunes to Media Center. There is a learning curve, some new concepts, but it isn't hard. Get on it!
Bottom line: It isn't a Media Center problem. Fix your PC.