Well it looks as though is was all because of the new RAM I added. All
the stop errors that pointed to software issues, all the rebooting, all
the quirks, all because of after production RAM that was installed.
There was no virus, there was no faulty DIMM socket or loose CPU, there
were no software issues or incompatible drivers. Just the funky RAM.
This machine is very particular about the specs of the RAM that it
approves of.

Since it could continue to cost more and more money to buy RAM modules
and "test" them out to see if they work out ok, I decided that this
laptop will always only have the 128MB stick running in it. It's a
dated 650mhz laptop that's not worth sinking more money into. It boots
very slowly, but after it boots, with Windows XP running on it, all the
programs run fairly fast.

I appreciate all the input and advice from everyone. I don't think I
would have solved it so soon and with such a confident conclusion with
out Future Hardware forum. I'm sure anyone who has the same problem
with their Dell cpx and finds this thread through Googling will learn a
lot too.

Thanks.