XP starts half crashed

[Jo]

When I start XP under normal conditions, I get a login screen that has
an extremely low resolution (I don't even think it's at 640x480) and
4-bit colour. If I try to login I get error messages about one thing or
another not initializing. If I ctrl-alt-del I'm told that task manager
can't initialize either. Fortunately, I configured my power button to
cause a shutdown, or I'd have to reset.
I'm running WinXPHE SP2 with all the recent updates.
The only hardware I've installed recently was a DVD. Pulling that
didn't fix the problem.
One way in which I've been consistently able to alleviate the
problem is to start in safe mode (which has a healthy-looking
800x600x16+ display mode) and run chkdsk /f c:, and, of course, opting
to perform the scan upon reboot. Chkdsk reports no problems, but when I
restart in normal mode, everything seems to work, for a single session,
then I have to chkdsk all over again.
I tried reinstalled SP2 with no effect.
I've tried reinstalling various drivers (I have an nVidia vid card
and onboard chipset) with no effect.
It would seem some startup driver is responsible, but I have no
idea how to begin hunting it down.

 

[bxf]

I've tried reinstalling various drivers (I have an nVidia vid card
and onboard chipset) with no effect.

So perhaps these two are conflicting with each other. Can you disable
the onboard graphics in the BIOS?

And, is this a new problem? Was the system working properly before you
did what???

 

[Jo]

So perhaps these two are conflicting with each other. Can you disable

I doubt it, since they are both from the same company, and have
worked together on the same motherboard for 2 years without incident.

the onboard graphics in the BIOS?

There isn't any onboard graphics.

And, is this a new problem? Was the system working properly before you
did what???

It is completely new, and as I mentioned, the only change I made
around the time of the problem was the installation of the DVD.
Furthermore, after disconnecting the DVD the problem persisted.

I also forgot to mention that the event viewer records no errors or
warning when I start and this problem occurs.
I also tried using the /i and /c switches on the chkdsk, which also
alleviated the problem for a single session. I even tried chkdsking D:
during starup which is FAT32, which had the same effect, and is highly
prefered since it takes much less time.

 

[bxf]

Sorry, I took your "onboard chipset" as onboard graphics.

Was any software installed with the DVD installation? If so, perhaps
one needs to focus on that.

 

[Jo]

Sorry, I took your "onboard chipset" as onboard graphics.

Was any software installed with the DVD installation? If so, perhaps
one needs to focus on that.

One might think it would, but just like any optical drive, any
driver installation done at that time would have been automatic.