BTW, and for what its worth (nothing since Im an IT idiot), my guess is that Im getting random boot failures, as when I get this screen the hard disk does not seem to operate. But, it would have to be some very early stage boot failure, since I dont get any blue screen or other similar message.

In terms of virus infection, Ive kinda ruled that out since I have a fully licensed verion of Norton that is constantly updated. In any event, Im running a full system scan as I type this.

Thanks.