Part of my post is missing but I did do a chkdsk and repair but the problem kept coming back. Anyway I will do what you have suggested, but what puzzles me is that the original beta worked fine for months, and had no problems with the RC version until I installed some new software.
I have been reluctant to update the BIOS, as I keep hearing that you should avoid
doing that unless absolutely necessary.
By the way, I have a custom built computer, not an HP so should I still follow the procedure?
Also, I also have XP on another partition, which I do not want to remove.