Doc wrote:

I've turned off power management in both bios and within the OS -
settings to turn off drives "never", yet they continue to shut down
after idle time.

Running on a PIII 933mhz Compaq Deskpro EN. Recently got this computer
and notice there are references to Dell within XP (this is a Compaq),
so I assume the person who sold it to me had been at one point been
running it on a Dell. I wonder if this could have any bearing on this
issue.

This apparently is a used computer, hardware from Compaq. Right? It
sounds very much like the person who sold it to you at one point
upgraded the machine from (probably) Windows ME with an XP disk or
image he/she got from a Dell machine. If this is correct, I see two
problems he

1. If the seller did not provide any operating system or restore cd's
with the machine, he sold it to you without the license to have an
operating system on the box. Illegalities aside (and it was illegal for
him to have sold you the machine as it is now without the operating
system software), from a practical standpoint this leaves you
completely out in the cold if you need to do any system repairs where
the operating system is required. You will need to purchase an
operating system.

2. Compaqs are made with very proprietary hardware and software. As
originally sold, this machine would have come with Compaq Recovery
Disks with images of the operating system, special power management
software, drivers, and any third-party programs bundled with the
system. It is unlikely that anything except Compaq-written drivers will
work with that box.

I can't tell you what to do next, but if it is possible I'd return the
machine and get your money back. Buy a new computer and start over.
Otherwise, go to Compaq's website and look for downloads and drivers
for your particular model computer. Make sure the programs are for
Windows XP and not ME. Download what you can. Depending on what you
get, you may need to uninstall older drivers before installing the
right ones.

Good luck,

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"