When it freezes hold the power button you might have a Hard drive problem or you could have a virus but since you wiped your HD that probably isn't it. Check how many processes your running, I've had problems like that in the past. You can try your hard drive in another computer to test if thats it or try someone else's in yours. (Vista won't run if you change mac addresses usually though). But for now see how many processes your running and try running in safe mode to see if that changes anything.

-AS

That sux, can you afford a new one? Or are you just gonna go without PC gaming lawl

-AS

Then it sounds like the mother board. If you can, try makeing your heard drive a slave onto another computer, to see if it runs slow. If it doesn't, the drive is fine & the mother board is doing it. That sucker can get weird do to power issues. Then test the mother board with another drive. One or the other has to give. Try to see what dmg is done to it 1st before you replace the whole thing. Some times it something small, even the fan could be doing.
I wish computer could tell you whats wrong with them other then just "Error".
But go slow & take it one item at a time. hopefully it's something that won't cost much.

Crazy white people.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this problem?

Yeah well I like to feel like I am some sort of badass for using msconfig >:c