[alphanumeric]

Okay then here is my problem, a few months ago I bought an HP desktop (Model m9405f) i bought it refurbished. It was a pretty good deal I got a $1600.00 system for around $800.00 Now A few months ago, the system would just randomly crash. I hadn't created the system restore disks, but I thought well I'll just perform a system restore and then I'll make the system restore disks.

So anyways, I perform a system restore, and when my system restarts I get a "Code Purple" In essence what it is is a tiny bit of code HP sticks in the start-up to check against a tattoo to the EEPROM chip on the motherboard.

Now I have done no modifications to the computer, but they may have when refurbishing it at the store I bought it from.

I was simply going to wait until windows seven came out and simply put the new OS on my system, but my financial situation is not the same as when the problem occurred. I read that you could remove the hard drive and install it into another computer and edit the problem there. But I attempted that yesterday only to discover that HP rivets 90% of there computers together so getting to the hard drive is virtually impossible without permanently disassembling the case.

So my question to you is this:

Could I get a burn a linux DVD and run it in the CD drive and THEN access the files I would need to delete or modify to get my system up and running?

The reason I am sticking with windows is my desktop is used primarily for gaming. and trying to run windows games in linux is a pain I don't want to get involved in.

Also let this be a lesson to everyone else! DON"T buy HP. in fact build your own system. That's what I'm definitely doing next time.