Hi Douglas,
I hope things are running better in the office. The machine appears to be in good health, but of course I was unable to replicate the problem, or any problem really; the machine ran fine for me. Whether or not the attempted automatic virus scanning of unavailable drive letters, or the external card reader and/or associated software was the problem, is anyone's guess. The printer and the network appear to be correct.
Since the frustration factor on this machine has already exceeded any reasonable threshold level, I suggest you do one of two things:
1) Perform or have performed a "Clean Windows Install" on this machine, erasing its history and starting fresh, or
2) Replace the system with a new one.
There is too much history in this machine, which dates back to the days when it was an Aptiva. Do note, in fairness, that it is not a new machine, and never has been since it started life as an Aptiva many moons ago. It is a machine that has been rebuilt over time. The rebuilding of hardware is not as risky or trouble-prone as it may sound. Rather, it is the condition of the SOFTWARE (read: WINDOWS) running on the hardware that usually dictates the quality of one's computing experience.
In my time, this machine has been attacked by viruses repeatedly, has had internet access installed and removed frequently, has had networking issues come and go, and has had a variety of third-party hardware installed and removed and reinstalled. All this takes a toll. As you may recall, the Windows environment was so fouled up that the computer would simply not take Norton AntiVirus, that's why I had to install PC-Cillin 2000, a decent program but hardly my first choice.
These facts alone suggest that, at a minimum, option 1) should be followed, and possibly (probably?) option 2.
The lure of low-cost systems purchased at local stores or via the internet etc. is so strong for many people that it's usually not worth it for me to give my lecture about quality and value. It's like preaching to the deaf. It's best to let people follow their personal stars and learn what they have to learn as a result of doing so. For everyone who loves their little Dell Computer and has zero trouble with it, there is someone else having endless trouble with it.
Most people are not exposed to this reality, so they don't see it. All they see is the advertisements; all they hear are the positive stories; the negative stories are buried, suppressed, inaccessible. But a simple internet search can confirm it (type "Dell Sucks" into Yahoo or Google and sit back), as would spending a day or two as a "fly on the wall" in The Computer Guru's repair shop, where Dells, Gateways, Compaqs, HPs, E-Machines, Intel-based systems, AMD-based systems, systems of all kinds, visit regularly to get their kinks straightened out at a fair and reasonable cost to the owners of these systems.
Best regards,
SS
1:03:45 PM 
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