HDD issues??-HHEEELPP

[neeru_igi]

My windows Xp(pro) freezes frequently.the hdd activity Led lights up continuously and nothing works.aftr 5-8 seconds the led goes back to blinkinkg by that time the car i was driving crashes to a tree.its really annoying especially in multiplayer.win 98 dosent have this problem.i tried installing win 2000(a friends,not pirated)it too didnt have this problem.but after installing the GPU driver the monitor shuts down automatically after 1-2 minutes of bootMy system specs are AMD Athlon xp 2000+,MSI MS6390 Mobo, 256 MB(266Mhz)RAM, 40GB maxtor Hdd(ATA), XFX GeF 5200 fx GPU(AGP).also if i have to upgrade,which processor-Mobo combo should i go for?My budget for an upgrade(7k)might not allow a gpu(my current being AGP and future mobos having PCI-E).So please suggest mobos with good onboard graphics.

[patkim]

I feel this could be because of having only 256 MB of RAM. Win XP will frequently access / transfer contents to swap file on HDD as it may run out of memory as you seem to be playing games.