msdos compatibility mode

here is a link for the hyper-threading for P4:
http://www.ocsystem.com/inp4cpuhyre.html

my best advice would be to install windows XP, you loose alot of power considering your system (mobo+CPU)

It's true that Win98SE can't recognize hyperthreading; only OS'es capable of SMP are able to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperThreading
Your drives running in DOS compatibility mode have nothing to do with hyperthreading.  It is more likely that the IDE driver you have installed doesn't work properly with your motherboard.

I agree with Callandor.  One thing to try is to boot into Safemode, checkout devman, see if you have duplicate entries specifically with your chipset and IDE devices.  If so remove them.  reboot, and install updated drivers for your MOBO.

If that fails....
Start removing devices....  Remove all except for RAM, Proc, and Video.  Boot up, and see if you still have the proble... if not start adding devices one at a time.

If you still have a problem....
Check your Bios for OS=PNP.  It should be set to yes, but would be worth a try to set to no.

Good luck

Hello

Thanks for all your replies. Changing the ATA/IDE configeration from enhance to legacy solved the problem. No need to install winXP. Thanks again...