As some of you probably remember, my computer crashed about two months ago more or less. I was fiddling around in some files and poof - I get an error that IE could not boot and that I had to reinstall Windows.

Well, I went through every CD I had and could not find a reinstall CD, so I just gave up after calling Gateway and getting no reply. I have used the internet on my lesser computer downstairs which has poor dial up speeds up until now.....

Today I was organizing my CD's because my mother had just bought a new stand for me to stick stuff on. I spent about an hour filtering through them, then finished up. I went to my 2nd computer ready to play around and noticed another CD I had somehow failed to catagorize lying on my Maya Unlimited package box which I so proudly display on the top of my processor. I picked it up, turned it over and low and behold - an unused, never taken out of the package Windows 2000 Professional Edition install CD ready to be crammed into my computer's D drive.

Seeing a ray of hope, I quickly turned on my computer to see what would happen. I didn't know what to expect since I have never done anything like this before, so the entire experience was something new to me. After a while, I saw the Windows 2000 start up screen and realized all was well again.

All my files were still in their last known condition and everything worked properly. I installed all of my drivers as well as a few applications such as Roxio Easy CD Creator. I noticed however, that most of my files were misplaced. All of my documents were in another folder where they shouldn't have been and all my applications did not appear in my programs list. I searched through my computer and found them all uinder a different programs menu, but unfortunately was unable to use some of them.

Since so many things were misplaced, I had two of a lot of things (since I had overwriten a previous version of Windows), and because my HD needed to be wiped clean anyway, I decided to reformat my computer. Before I did this however, I realized that I would need to back up all my precious data. I already had some of my main files such as documents, midis, and a few other random files backed up on another computer, but had a lot of mp3's and data files to take care of.

I booted up Roxio Easy CD Creator. The Project Selector appeared. I clicked "Data CD." I get an error. It doesn't do anything else. I try to close it, but it is unresponsive. I am forced to go into the Task Manager and force it to close. I try again, but the same error appears. One of those weird errors us humans can't understand.....

I download another CD burning program from download.com in hopes of burning my precious data to a CD, but it says I need to download Windows Media Player 7 and the Adeptec Plug-in which is supposed to come with it. https://www.blazeaudio.com/?url=rebcdplugin I already have Windows Media Player 9, but I reinstall it just to be sure. Still, I have no luck.

Oh woe is me..... That ray of hope is now diminishing into oblivion never to be seen again. I am at a standstill now knowing not what to do. What kind soul hath wisdom to share with me? What seeds of knowledge dost thou have that will help me through this time of dispair? In other words - HEEEEELP!!!!