Browser Issue

Something I have not seen before. Here is the description:

OS: Win2K Pro IE: 5.5 on a robust Dell.

So, I am on line, visiting a site, any site, and I click on an internal link inside the site (such as going to the DG chat room). Instead of taking me to the new page, I see an error message and "An error log is being created."

The screen freezes, and the program will not close. So, I go to Task Manager. It shows "Not Responding" for the transfer to the new link, and all other tasks "Running."

I click End Task, to terminate the link. The new dialoge box tells me that the program is not responding (as if I didn't know), and that it is being debugged.

At this stage, NONE of the keys on my computer function. The mouse does not respond (cursor in permanent hourglass). After 20 minutes, I just power down.

This began yesterday. What I did about it yesterday:

Ran total virus scan of entire platform using Norton Professional Edition 2003 (fully updated daily).

Ran scan to fix file system errors (no errors reported).

Ran Scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors (none reported)

Ran defrag over night.

Cold boot after each operation.

The problem seems to vanish, but then reappears after I have been on line a couple hours (maybe this is an illusion). This platform has a history of being stable and error free, and is usually connected and running 24/7/365.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Adam.