.... Also, many programs crash more
often than before I began to un-install gaim.

From you main description, but particularly with the above sentence in mind,
you *may* be seeing the early signs of a failing hard drive. Try running
Scandisk in Real Mode DOS - but note the warning below.

Boot using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk and at the A:\ prompt, type:
scandisk d: (Note the syntax - space between k and d followed by a colon)
Then press return.

Warning! If it shows errors, do NOT let it 'fix' them or do a Surface Test
until you have backed up your data - you may need professional assistance if
you're not sure how to copy or recover your data files.

However, if you are prepared to lose data, then let it repair errors and do
the surface scan.

Hopefully - and with a bit of luck g - it may even fix the problem.

Good luck

Mart


"RichE" wrote in message
...
After trying to firstly install "multi-protocol instant
messaging (IM) client Gaim 1.21" and then after having to
un-install it, the un-install wizard decided to delete or
un-install many .exe files and programs on my computer.
Many things did not work after that and although I
attempted to re-format the hard disk and use a backup CD,
the CD drive would not autorun and so I cannot now do
that. So, I decided to install all the programs that I
could and leave the programs that came with the OS. The
computer works, but now whenever I shut down or restart
the computer, SCANDISK will run as the computer thinks I
did not shut it down properly. The problem is that
SCANDISK will not go past 1 bar or even finish scanning --
it eventually makes the computer hang and the results in
a BSOD. Scandisk will not even finish in SAFE MODE and
stops half way before the computer freezez again. Is
there any way to fix this? Also, many programs crash more
often than before I began to un-install gaim. I have run
a complete anti-virus/adaware/spybot check and all is
clear.