One other point about stability: Hardware can also be to blame. I experienced this when I re-built my PC after the storm. I hadn't realised the memory had been damaged and used the old memory at first but enountered "write protection errors" and an abnormal ammount of "illegl ops" until I changed it.

Also, settings at BIOS level can cause problems - it's quite possible to make a "tweak" there, e.g. some BIOS allow "Turbo" mode for memory - sounds good - it may well work but if your memory is not up to the job, you may find overall stability decreases.

Jon