1@all: ecuse my bad english but this is normaly a german-Site (and my last Engl.lesson is 4-5 years ago)
this should be not normal, i think that ther is a program running in the Back of Windows (such as the Office-Start/Index-Searcher, has to be in the Autorun-Menü from Windows, or another thing like that, I heard about the Outlook-Express that has a Funktion that is straight simmilar to the Office-Start, under Win98 u can make following: press "Start" "Execute" and then type "msconfig", in the Programm that now start's u can select those Menues like "autoexec.bat" or "config.sys", u should take the most right one and deaktivate point for point those things that stay there and that u don't know, the only things that must be activated are the Explorer and the Systray, those two ARE the Windows like u know it, without Win won't start) or the other version (i remember now only two of a "milion", u know: ther can be so much "solutions/way's" if u have Windows) that u'r HDD is "dying", I mean that she becomes to hot or is only to old or something like that (or she is "weakin", maybe u heared about IBM with the Problem that they had with they're DTLA-HDD: in a couple "Monday-produced-Drives" there can start everytime Data-coruption, maybe this is hapening to ur HDD and those things are signals, so hurry up and make a Backup of your important Data's
see You and nice Summer