Winchester

Oh man.. thats a cruel joke..

I'm not clear on the question? If both shortcuts are pointing to the same file, then just delete one of them.

Use "WinKey+L"

Defragging you hard drive does not "free up wasted space". All it does is arrange the file clusters neatly (placing all the clusters for the same file together). It improve performance of the hard drive by saving the hard drive from going all over the drive plates to find all the clusters (parts) of a file.

LOL... Proper OS's... Do you think that if the OS's that you're referring to as "Proper" has problems with that, then just maybe they not really "Proper" at all??

Yes, but the IDE controller is using what WinXP installed, it doesn't mean that it will work properly. So, the best thing to do is load the drivers that came with the motherboard.

This is only necessary if you had hard drive errors or if the hard drive refuse to mount in Windows XP.

There's an easier way to do this. You have to take ownership of the directories in the new installation on XP.Ok, here's how you do it.1> Open up Windows Explorer. Go to "Tools" and then to "Folder Options". Click on the "Veiw" tab and look for "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)". Uncheck it and click the "Ok" button.This will open up more sharing & security options.2> Locate the directory that you're trying to access in Windows Explorer. Right click on it and scroll to "Sharing and Security...". You could also go to "Properties" to get there.Go to the "Security" tab. Look for the "Advanced" button at the bottom (just above the "Apply" button) then look for the tab that says "Owner". and click on it.In the 'Current Owner of this item:' field you should see a bunch of code like numbers & letters.In the area below you should see your new account (Username) and "Administrators". Select your user name or the "Administrators", or which ever User you want to take over the directory.Just below that user list Check the box that says "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects". Then click the "Ok" button. Once you click the "Ok" button you should see the files & folder changing over. It may take a few minutes, depending on how many files & folders are there.3> Once the changing over finishes, go back to the main security window and add full access permission to either your Username or to "Everyone".Now you should have all access to the directory and all the folders in it.

Has it always been that way? Did it just started to do that suddenly? If so try to remember if you've installed any new softwares or allowed any new softwares to be load from te internet. Are you running any P2P network software, like say eMule? I know eMule user have been complaining about similar issues.I really think it could be the memory, but you should keep inmind other possible causes.

Good point... I'm thinking another possibility for this that you you may not have loaded the Motherboard chipset driver. Sometime this will contribute to hard drive problems.

Beta, huh.. I think that would mean that they don't have all the hardware drivers embedded in the installation as yet, huh?? Usually when OSs' freezes just after installation I remove all the communication adapters, like modems and Nic. Well, actually I would suggest moving all expansion cards and try to boot up again. I really don't know anything about Longhorn. Though I'm excited to see what it can do. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be another Windows Me..

DotTK is not free. Infact, it sucks what they do.They mentioned nothing about the pre-loaded page with their ads. I cancelled mine as soon as I realized it.

Oh yea.. Knoppix is a sweet little distro.. Great for learning Linux.

True.. MacOS is quite nice. But it does give as much problems as Windows does. Infact, I use both OS's for work & play and the I find Windows easier to cope with. This is because Windows gives you some sort of hint when as to why it crashes. Mac? Well lets say that I gave up after 7 hours of trying to figure out what the problem was the last time it crashed. I ended up reloading. I'm thinking, perhaps, your windows wasn't setup properly why your Windows crash. I haven't have to reload my Windows machines for almost 2 years now. The last crash I had was because my modem got burnt (an you'll know that win modems with hang the PC because it uses the CPU to carry out its functions). A quick switch an I was back to normal.

There's no doubt that MacOS can do all of what you mentioned about. But, there another thing you should really consider. Maintaining and upgrading capabilities. I'm certain that its easier to get support for Macs from hwere you are, but what if something as simple a your video card should go? For PCs you can get it anywhere, and you can choose for a range of brands and prices to fit your current budget. For the iMac? Do you think it would be just as easy to get?