I've been getting two "Runtime Error 5 at 01457084" msgs every time at startup. Sometimes the first 4 digits are different, but it's always Runtime Error 5 at xxxx7084, and always 2 of them. If I close both boxes, my screen stops refreshing (dragging a window is like cloning a window, except the old location is "frozen" there), and explorer.exe then takes over 96% of my processing, and I have to kill the process, and restart explorer. If I don't close the boxes, everything else seems to work fine... This seems to have started a day or two ago, altho I don't remember doing anything different. I believe I used Kazaa (after not having used it for a long time), and I think the latest MSFT patch was automatically downloaded, but not sure those are related. I've run Spybot and cwshredder, per other posts I've seen, but no avail. My machine has the "automatic download/install patches" option from MSFT, so should be completely up to date. I've also gone into Add/Remove Programs and taken out everything that seems suspicious. Oh, one last thing, when I restart, the computer doesn't just shut off anymore - the screen goes blank, except for the 2 Run Error boxes and just hangs there. THEN, if I hit my off switch on the actual PC box, the "Windows is shutting down" message appears, then it shuts down (and I have to turn it back on). What do I do??? Help!!! Any and all info is appreciated!

Firstly, I hope you have updated your CWshredder, as the previous one has been altered by a hacker. Next, if you are using Kazaa then you are asking for trouble as a number of spyware programs have been attached to it. If you are desparate to use it then the Lite version is an alternative. In the meantime, download Kazaabegone, use Google to locate it, and delete the program. Finally, I think that you have corrupted your OS. To remedy that, boot on your Win2k disk and use the Repair feature, Fast Repair. If it works then you will be presented with a new desktop, but that's easy to get back to normal. If it does not work, then you will need to reinstall your OS, but you will have to back up all your important data. If you are not sure how to boot on your Win2K disk, please repost. As a matter of interest, have you got a firewall and a virus checker? ZoneAlarm and AntiVir are two good programs that can enhance your computer's security.

You might also want to look at http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/84075.html which may or may not be related