No partitions on the machine, and I'll be wiping it clean - so that should clear that part all right. I'll check with the manufacturer on the bios part. I hadn't thought of that.

You mentioned 'Rewriting the MBR should make you safe from any of these. ' - if I wipe the whole computer.. is that automatic?

One of the reason I was asking about the disk repair or scan disk is when all this started, I had to power down the machine the Wrong way because nothing else at all would work and it was completely frozen. I'm not sure how much and what kind of damage that does.

Thanks much for your help, I really appreciate how quickly you posted the answer, too!

mystmaiden