Nope, a new install is my hope for fixing this whole thing. I just wanna know a couple things though, if it''s not a bad HD, could be another piece of hardware? Else, a new HD and fresh install is the easiest cure?

If it can''t be another hardware problem, I''m just gonna buy a new drive...

Oh, and to break XP is not an easy thing ya know..., first you have to stupidly have a dual boot setup, and use XP on the D:\ drive to confuse any applications that you might install, it helps. Then you need to install Redhat Linux...just to see if you can do it and never use it, then just install, uninstall, reinstall, overwrite and a bunch of programs, download stuff you don''t need, and repeatedly experiment with beta software till you get pink boxes in SDC SmartStartup, and somehow all that breaks CursorXP after a while. Then the "I don''t care if you''re busy, the screen is going black, NOW!" crashes start to happen at random, just when you least expect it. After that, there''s no tuning back...
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Yrag
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My honest opinion is that it is not a HD problem...the one thing that would have caused a problem that you are experiencing would have been caused by corrupt drivers (thus the load of the new graphics drivers)and the fact that 'Event Viewer' is also corrupt. I don't like the part about your screen going black....so I am concerned there might be a hardware problem, but I don't think so. I would try a fresh install and I think you'll be good to go (if not,then get a new drive). Try one thing first...run 'Defrag' on the main drive and see what it does.

Oh, and to break XP is not an easy thing ya know..., first you have to stupidly have a dual boot setup, and use XP on the D:\ drive

...that wasn't a good thing to leave out

...although I have to admit it's a great tutorial on porkin' a 'puter

Are these separate drives or partitions?

I have 3 partitions, C:\ is win2k (now dead thanks to China ), D:\ is XP Pro, and Z:\ is Linux.

Gary, I'm not gonna try and salvage this drive if I'm gonna do a fresh install. I'd rather just buy a new one, they're cheap anyways...$65 for a WD 80GB, more than I got now. I was planning on doing this from the start, I started this thread because I thought Win2k was a bit more stable to get me through until I got the new drive, and I honestly wanted a new taskbar replacement. Although that's not possible anymore...I'll just ride it out for the week, I'll order it on Friday, and go from there.

(now dead thanks to China

...ain't that the truth


Go for the drive and for all intends and purposes you should be fine with the partition setup. I think you diagnosed your own problem when you listed everything you have done over time and I think it just (for what ever reason) went south. I know if someone did that to me, that's what I'd do

So its all China's fault Gary??

yup...

Yeah, I do this to every computer I own, after a while, they just get so bogged down, things start to break. It happened to my last computer, it happened to my work computer...so I'm pretty used to it. One of the dev guys that used to work for us, had the same problem...so atleast I know it's not just me. I personally think it's the computer industry secretly coding the drives to break after a while so you buy a new bigger and better one. IT'S A CONSPIRACY DAMN IT!!

I hope people that read this learn from my mistake. The more crap you collect...the bigger the pile of s**t you end up with...

IT'S A CONSPIRACY DAMN IT!!

...Hus, I think you nailed it..

Where is China anyways? Surely she would of been pokin' fun at us by now...

...she's probably workin' on downsizing her butt

if it were something as simple as a bad sector, windows should crash every time you do a spacific operation, every time. since it seems to be failing over random lengths of time, if harddrive maybe its failing? but.. still, its strange..

...she's probably workin' on downsizing her butt

Oh your brave Gary