DESKTOP FLASHES ON AND OFF every 8-10 seconds.

Have you tried disableing the onboards graphics in the bois and use one of the other graphics cards you mentioned. To me it sounds more like a hardware issue?????? It sounds like software is working fine if you can sneek a program launch in the middle of the flickering. Try that out and let us know. Hope this helps :)

If you can, I would completely uninstall your video card driver and let windows reinstall and reconfigure it on boot. That's in Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager > Display Adapters > Right click and try update. If that finds nothing new, uninstall it.

You said you tried a lot of stuff but what happens when you boot into safe mode? Same thing?

It almost sounds like you lose your explorer shell. The next time you're stuck with the desktop only bring the task manager: on XP Home I believe it's just Ctrl+Alt+Del; on XP Pro it's the same then click task manager; or use Ctrl+shift+ESC to bring it up.

In Task Manager go to File->New Task (Run...) and type in EXPLORER and see if the start menu/desktop icons re-appear.

Does your PC boot up to a login prompt or just go straight to the desktop? If you log off and sit at the login screen does the screen flash?

Have you created a new user and logged in as that to see if it does it under a different user?

Sounds like you have done a lot of hardware troubleshooting so it's probably not that. I guess it could be something wierd like you tried different monitors but used the same VGA/DVI cable every time and that's what's faulty....

I think I'm a little confused by what you mean by "flashing". Does the whole screen just go blank? Does it literally flash like the flash of a camera/strobe light?

A couple other things you could try just to rule them out:
- Reset the CMOS. Usually a couple pins on the motherboard to short for a couple seconds (should be in the manual). Taking out the CMOS battery for ~15 seconds would also do this. (Only do this if you're confident in such things.)
- flash to the latest system BIOS (you seem advanced enough you could do that). (Only do this if you're confident in such things.)
- Run something like MEMTest86 to rule out the memory. (http://www.memtest86.com/)

Of course it could be a faulty motherboard. Too soon to tell.

Ok thanks.
task manager only opens with a basic shell, but no icons are available to click onto. In other words it does not function.  Memtest passed the memory test(one of the "other" Things I tried.  Yes, same thing happens in safe mode, so I have nowhere to go, to try a repair.

 I will try  the Video suggestions.  If that does not work I will try to reset the CMOS, something I have never done before on a DELL.

Thank you all.  Cannot wait to try your suggestions.  Will be back.

D616

Not exactly sure what you mean by task manager opening only "with a basic shell", but perhaps it is this:  Task Manager has opened in what Microsoft calls "tiny footprint mode".  To return it to normal display mode, double click on the border of the window.  See this article (which applies to Vista as well as XP):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/193050
Task Manager Menu Bar and Tabs Are Not Visible

What I mean is that Task Manager window opens only the "Windows Task Manager" heading on top and "end task", Switch To"  and New Task" buttons showing.  NOTHING else is there.  Applications, processes and all the other tabs are not there.  No Applications or processes tabs, or ANY of the other tabs that belong there ( or their contents) are there, or even show in the window.  

Windows Task Manager is basically an empty window.  File, Options, View etc., are not there.  Just the heading and the 3 aforementioned bottom buttons(tabs) The rest is absolutely blank. Strange, huh?  Thank you, as I am  plodding along trying to get this right, but I still need all you Experts.

D616

Lee, your suggestion fixed task manager, but the screen still flashes off and back on to the desktop before I have time to even look at the process list.  Then the desktop comes back with its icons for ten seconds then it goes to the blank screen again, then back to the desktop.

It goes blank,  THEN BACK TO THE DESKTOP FOR 10 SECONDS, THEN BLANK AGAIN.  It never stops this 10 second cycling, no matter what I click on.

Thanks

D616

Uhoh, I guess the HijackThis log tutorial doesn't exist any more.  Don't you just love the transiency of the internet?  Good pages come and disappear all the time...

Which video card is this?  I once had a problem like it running Catalyst Center on a Radeon X700.

Ok guys.  I am very familiar with hijack this and the Video is Integrated Intel 82845G/GL chip.  I tried some odd Older PCI cards  (TNT Riva, nvidia mx400, Diamond stealth etc) I have laying around, but nothingchanged.  Past my bedtime. be back tomorrow.  this problem wears a person out because you must try 6-7b times before you are lucky enough to get an application going.  I am running Spybot S+D right now.

It appears that once you get something going, it will run its course, buit i am not sure yet.  As the scan is running, the background is plain with the destop icons star button and taskbar gone.

good nite
D616

Hijackthis would've been good to start with to see what infections are present in the system.

Sometimes running mainstream scanners even some antivirus scan can render the pc unbootable as they delete bad files without deleting the bad value in the registry.

Hi folks.

I have been busy.  tried all of the suggestions above.  i actually ran a scan over nite(it took 8.5 hours) with a favorite of mine, A-Squared Anti Malware.  It found an awful 40,135 infections.  That is 40 THOUSAND!  they were mostly affiliated with porn videos that the teenaged boy who uses this PC obviously frequented.

As I tried to quarantine or delete them, the PC was rendered inoperable again.  there were definite signs of the viruses trying to protect themselves by disablling  and even HIDING ALL security apps that I finally was able to get onto  this system.   I also used Hijack this prior to A-Squared and removed an astronomical amount of crap.


Being unable to use the native PC, I took out the HDD again and inserted it as the slave on a brand new built,   perfectly protected and absolutely clean PC.  I rqan A-Squared on the problem HD and as I did so, my Security program( ESET Internet Security 32-N.O.D.) began deleting the 41K worth of infections, one-at-a-time as the A-squared program raised them from hiding.  100% resource use.  I paused A-squared and let ESET do the job, but it would have taken days to purge them all.  So I switched back to A2 and stopped ESET.   i was in hope that being  a fresh machine, i would not have the same  crashing, hiding probs I had on the native Dell.  It was set just to scan the problem drive, not my C drive.

Well, these bugs started to fend off my scans like they had a life of their own.   All my clean, new, freshly installed security applications were disabled here, just like on the Dell.

Botttom line is I am afraid that My newly built, 500GB HDD PC will get infected if i try to clean  up the offending HDD on my PC.  I think that 40,135 individuall infections, NOT including sub-infects, may be a bit overwhelming.  My ego was telling me I could wipe this drive clean, but, now I am afraid.

Does anyone have a last suggesrtion before I force myself to do the inevitable?

While I await to hear from the expertts, i will try running another good scan.  AND What DO I DO NOW?

Thank you all for your perserverance.

D616

Did you put the infected hard drive back to the infected pc?
Does the infected pc still boot?

No suggestions before I re-format?  When i used the word Perserverence, I guess I spoke too soon.

Lee, you were the 1st to tell me to use hijack this and also 1st to say it was malware, not hardware.  I will wait  til morning, then I guess you win if nothing better comes in

Good nite D616

Thank you all.   The infected drive ruined the good drive on my good PC.  My security program is not working.  SO I reformatted the infected drive.  Will install windows tommorow.  should have done that from the beginning doe to the degree of infection.

Gamer girl, sorry, I never saw your question or I would have answered.

Question is finished;

Thanks again,

Donnie616

issue was never really repaired, but I became frustrated and had no other choice but to reformat because I had not gotten a response in   almost 24 hours.  like I said Lee, you were the first to mention "MALWARE".

Thank You,
D616