well, you didn't say what that blue screen said!
I'm no hardware specialist but, when you turn off Plug and Play OS in the BIOS, Windows assigns IRQ's. If Plug and Play OS is set to Yes, the BIOS handles IRQ's.
In my own experience, I've alwaqys had it set to NO in the BIOS.
I'd right-click on My Computer, choose properties, click the Device Manager tab and locate Sound,Video, & Game Controllers. Are there any flags? See this Knowledge Base article regarding Troubleshooting Device Conflicts with Device Manager:
<a target="_blank" href=http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q133/2/40.asp?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=Q133240&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=CHS>http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q133/2/40.asp?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=Q133240&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=CHS</a>
Also, System File Checker mis-identifies files as being corrupted or missing. It's detailed in the Knowledge Base:
When you use the System File Checker (Sfc.exe) tool to restore a Windows 98 system file (for example, the User.exe, Gdi.exe, or Krnl386.exe file) from a Windows 98 cabinet (.cab) file, the wrong version of the file may be extracted from the Mini.cab cabinet file. This can result in the inability to start Windows 98 (for example, your computer may stop responding) or "Windows Protection Error" error messages in normal and Safe mode.
NOTE: This symptom can occur when the System File Checker tool prompts you to restore a corrupt system file during a scan or when you extract and replace a system file using the System File Checker tool.
CAUSE
This behavior occurs because the System File Checker tool baseline file (Default.sfc) contains incorrect information about the source cabinet file locations for some Windows 98 system files. As a result, the System File Checker tool searches for the system file in the specified folder (if it is not in a cabinet file) and then in all cabinet files in the specified folder. The System File Checker tool searches cabinet files using their MS-DOS folder order and extracts the first instance found. If the Mini.cab cabinet file appears in an MS-DOS folder listing before the correct Windows 98 cabinet file (for example, the correct cabinet file for the User.exe file is the Win98_42.cab cabinet file.), the System File Checker tool may find the mini-Windows mode version of the system file in the Mini.cab cabinet file first.
NOTE: The Mini.cab cabinet file contains mini-Windows mode files used only by Windows 98 Setup and DriveSpace.
RESOLUTION
To work around this behavior, restart your computer using the Windows 98 Startup disk, choose Start Computer With CD-ROM Support from the Windows 98 Startup menu, and then re-extract the file at a command prompt using the Extract.exe tool.
If you've upgraded Internet Explorer, DirectX, and/or Windows Media Player 7, it mis-identifies files here also:
Error Message: System File Checker Identified that the Following File may Be Corrupted. File: EXTRAC32.EXE...
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The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5, 5.01 for Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition
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SYMPTOMS
When you use the scan for altered files feature in System File Checker after you install Internet Explorer version 5.0 or 5.01, you may receive the following error message:
System File Checker identified that the following file may be corrupted.
File: EXTRAC32.EXE
Location: C:\WINDOWS
Also, you may receive one or more error messages that indicate one or more of the following files are damaged:
Internet Explorer 5.0
Advpack.dll
Internet Explorer 5.01
Rnaph.dll
Advapi32.dll
Wlda32.dll
Mscat32.dll
Mssip32.dll
Mssign32.dll
Softpub.dll
Cryptui.dll
Cryptnet.dll
Cryptext.dll
Msoss.dll
CAUSE
This problem can occur if System File Checker does not recognize files that are installed by Internet Explorer version 5.0 or 5.01.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, click Update verification information under What do you want to do?, and then click OK.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.
Please post back with the EXACT error messages you receive.
reghakr