At this point .... I would indeed do a repair using the disk..... It will replace all files that are having an issue. It only touches the MS folder for the os.

That may be your best bet.
May i also suggest, nero or acronis and a secondary hdd?
You can use them to make an image of the pc, and have it as a loadable image... it will also open up and allow you drag and drop function....
I use it on 5 pcs.. and it works GREAT ....

If you need more info, you can pm me or hit me up on msn, or my site ..... Vaudvillany.

EDIT: I read that article, it can be similar to the issue you are having. You may have a corrupts vid driver. But I find it hard to believe that you would be running a pc with an onboard card and still be using a default driver.

I'll be fucking damned (xcuse me for the f word) but this is stupid.. Unplug all your usb hardware and voilá! Boots like a dream again. Well 1 time now, next one I'm gonna wait a bit longer.

I have 4 extra hd's. 1 is plugged onto the primary. 2 are plugged through IDE to USB cable's (I had no more room on my mobo). and 1 external HD. :)
But I think the problem now was for some reason that the 2 HD's that are plugged with USB came in conflict with some of the booting procedures. I dont know exact details, but I'll let you know how my second boot worked with everything plugged as it should be.

Problem then in bios and usb support maybe ?

Could be one or more of those USB devices are drawing more current than a USB port is designed for. USB 2 ports have a max of 500ma, if the device exceeds that, and some do, it could harm your PC. Even devices you would think to be low current can do this, such as TV tuner cards, in fact it's quite common with them.

Now some say USB 2 ports are driver protected against shorts, so I suppose it's possible your PC's MB could have refused to boot due to that. Since AutumnWave, makers of some of the highest quality and best supported HD TV tuner devices on the market say it can harm your PC though, I tend to take it seriously.

I think the hdds he is using via usb are powered as external hdds
omen ....

If that's so, seems pretty strange the problem would go away once they're disconnected. How do you explain that?

Cmos battery perhaps .... Maybe something in the usb support ... I spoke to Kor on msn .... He hasn't gotten back yet as to whether it is still an issue or not.
Kor's too scared to restart the pc ..LOL

Every time I think a CMOS battery might have gone bad replacing it doesn't help. I've seen many others say the same. There's always a first time you see something like that though.

So true .. so true....

I rebooted my pc few hours ago and it booted properly again. No problems whatever.

My HD's aren't powered by the USB port. They are powered by my normal power supply. (Cooler Master 450W). They are inside the case, but they are not connected by IDE on the mobo, but by USB on the backside of my pc.