HELP! The mysterious problem.....any ideas?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Motorboat Cruiser

I'm no expert but this doesn't sound good at all. Depending on how well your data is backed up, I'm wondering if it might be easier to consider an OS re-install at this point. It's a pain, considering all of the service packs and apps that need to be re-installed, but sometimes it is worth it just to be back to a nice clean system.

Actually, there's a less drastic option. Boot from the Windows install CD and hit "r" when it asks if you want to do a repair. That might do the trick (though you should probably make sure you've got copies of photos and other important files, either on Chris's computer, or burn 'em).