FIXED hdd problem - unplugged scanner

[crazychicken]

**I unplugged the scanner and everything worked. guess its cause XP puts the scanners right there in my computer. oh well"

I have an 800mhz, 256mb ram system.

it had 98. i upgraded to xp Pro (upgrade=bad idea).

no problems thought...

all of a sudden can't go to "my computer", just get the flashlight thingy.

ask on anandtech.... everyone says, and i agree "format and fresh install xp"

did that... still no my computer. also, recycle bin causes explorer to crash.

could this be the hdd?

i am totally stumped

any input would be great

thanks
david

 

[crazychicken]

what exactly does the flashlight do?

bump
david

 

[MaverickAVA]

Yeah, it sounds like it's a HDD problem. Especially of the recy. bin is causing the machine to lock up. Any other wierd sytomps like constant clicking or slow-downs for no reason when you're trying to access certain files? he flashlight just shows that the machine is looking for the components that are suppose to be displayed in that window....hence the reason I believe its a HDD issue, because it can't seem to 'read' your harddrive and display it /status / info in the my computer window.