I think it may be some kind of IRQ conflict.. I've gotten weird messages when using various linux livedisks about how the Cd-ROM "seems confused" and it disables IRQ 5 (possibly because I told it "no PnP O/S") and also 19.

Definitely hardware, though, because I get the same thing during Windows Install or running a livedisk.

No, it's not a temperature problem. I've never seen the CPU temp above 52.

Please help, I've been messing with this for 2 months, and have sent back half the parts.

I'm almost sure it's the mobo, because of how many parts I've swapped out (including the CPU).

Try to get a good fan for the cpu and change the cd-rom

done both.. I went and splurged on the Ultra X-wind, and that's why it does run so cool now. And I've got optical drives stacked up, so I tried that,too.

Thanks for trying, though.

If it's a hardware problem, it's either the hard drive or the mobo, like you said. Try changing the mobo first before getting another hard drive. That way, it's a win-win situation: you upgrade your computer with newer parts while fixing your computer.

Windows FTW.