Mkay, here we go.  I'm running on Windows ME and have for quite awhile now.  I've 
got 318 RAM with a GeForce4 MX 440 64 MB graphics card, if any of that helps.  So 
the problem, I guess you could say, starts with the fact that when you go (or went) 
to "Start" "Shutdown", the computer would no longer come up with the screen "Safe 
to shut off computer".  Instead, the screen would go black and just sit there.  So 
we decided that it was safe to shut it off manually.  Only when you start it back 
up again, it would try to ScanDisk and stated that an improper shutdown had occured. 
 The kicker for this, though, is that ScanDisk can't ever seem to finish.  It starts 
over and over and over and etc. never finishing until it comes up with an error that 
states something about timing out.  Well, we got tired of seeing this every time 
so I turned "Run ScanDisk after Bad Shutdown" off in (I think it's Advanced Settings 
under MSCONFIG).  

That's just the beginning.

Next, after getting our cable-modem and internet hooked up, it became either very, 
very slow or impossible (depending on how the computer was feeling that day) to get 
into "My Computer" without having the modem turned on.  However, it DID work when 
the modem was on so I didn't think too much of it.  (It sounded like a virus to me, 
but we'll get to that in a sec)

Reciently, after putting a disk in the Cd-Rom drive, the computer froze after I tried 
to get to the M: drive through "My Computer".  I thought it might have been because 
of "My Computer" this time because of the trouble I had in the past with it.  So 
I restarted the computer and tried to go to the Start menu.  I clicked on "Start" 
and the button depressed but never popped back out.  The computer was frozen... my 
mouse was frozen.

So it was from then til now.  Every time I press the "Start Button" the computer 
freezes and I have to restart it manually.

It doesn't do this, however, in Safe Mode, nor does it freeze when I go to "My Computer".

The CD-Rom Drive doesn't work in normal mode and isn't an option in Safe Mode under 
"My Computer".  The sound doesn't work either but that could be something else (something 
in Start up that's not selected, I'll check that later).

I tried to do System Restore with the CDs, but since the M: Drive doesn't work and 
there's no selection for it in Safe Mode I don't see how it's possible in the condition 
I'm in now.  I had a hunch that it all could be connected; from "Safe to shutdown" 
all the way to "My Computer/START/M: Drive Crashes".

So I downloaded several (4 or so) different Virus/spyware/grayware programs and, 
although they hunted down and murdered several low danger viruses and trojans that 
I had, the problem doesn't seem to be resolved.  I knew it wouldn't be that easy... 
so I came here to get some help in, perhaps, suggestions as to how my HP system might 
avoid Computer Hell?  I'd be much abliged.

Tell me anything else you need to know to help me out.  I'm sure there's something.

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