well, it booted.

it's a little funny, but it booted. i'm going to let it sit for now, but if it crashes, i'll have to flash & reinstall.

i still don't know if i'm getting hacked, if there's something broken or both. i know it seemed to be ok with no video card drivers and the last time it crashed was after a video card driver install. i reseated the card in a different pci slot, but if there's a problem, it would seem to be the drivers. 

let me get through the second run with this and then i can try to install the sound card drivers first. the sound card is more important than the video card...

alright, so i'm done the first run...which is just that....

the machine has been stable enough with just the chipset drivers. i'm going to turn it off and try to install the m-audio sound card - no drivers - and see what happens. the m-audio is a backup card, but it's good enough for what i'm doing, right now.

i have no choice but to do it like this. right now, the video card drivers are mildly suspect, but it's not clear.

so, i had to crash after i got something to eat and i'm feeling a little more alert. lesson learned: don't overdo it. and, now the weekend is officially blown.

i got most of the cleaning done. i have to do the bathroom, and i have to domyself.

for now, i want to sit down with a coffee, and i want to get the filing done, first. so, that's the night, and we'll see where it takes me.