I understand that this is a "stop code" - and that quite a
few users have experienced this, but... how can I cure it?
(It has made my W2K PRO practically unusable!).

Hello Don,
Yes, it is a stop code.
Most likely a bad driver causing the problem.
Choose, Start, Run and on the run line add:
verifier /flags 9 /all
on the re-boot you may experience a blue screen.
If you do, it will display the name of a poorly written driver. Verifier
is just detecting drivers with known issues and it may or maynot be the
driver that is causing the Stop A. However, the driver needs to be udated
or removed from the system.
If the bugcheck occurs before you log in, you can re-boot the machine, use
F8 and select "Last Known Good".
If the bugcheck occurs after you log in, then choose Start, Run and on the
run line add:
verifier /reset
and it will remove the registry settings.

If you would like for the memory dump to be analyzed, you need to open a
case with Microsoft.

Joe Griffin [MS]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.