now I'm very serious on that:
HAVE YOU INSTALLED ANY WINDOWS FIXES FROM AUTOUPDATE??? IF YES THIS SHOULD BE IT. REMOVE THEM AND YOU WILL SEE.
I have the same problem. If I install a service pack (like SP1) everything is fine and smooth. On the other hand, if I install a single patch (say a security-fix) my system starts locking up at random times, and everyone who used windows 2000/XP knows that it may be more stable than 9x, but if it crashes, there's no other way than the reset button on the box.
