yeah, i think that XP CD is not bootable... cuz i just booted a Linux off of a different CD... so, question - can i take all the files from my existing XP CD, copy them to my computer, and then record them using Nero's Bootable CD option??? However, i dont think that is the problem... other people have gotten the same Error 7 message while booting from a CD... I believe that the problem is in the hardware. Like i said, it worked beautifully before i took it all apart. This machine is weird, it is so particular... Since yesturday i've tried resetting all the microswitches on the mobo (ex: switching to 100 instead of 133 bus) and i've been running a built into BIOS Norton Diagnostics, which checked everything (like DIMMs and CPUs) for a LONGEST time (hours) and found no problems... WTF??????????