Scott,

Before replacing the hard drive, I would first run Win-Cleaner, which is a great program to get rid of junk files and registries that you cannot see. Then, if the problem persists, I suggest reinstalling Windows XP and the hardware drivers. If this still does not solve the problem, I suspect the secondary drive may be the culprit, but from the way you described the activities, it almost sounds like a hic-cup in the windows shutdown procedure. I'm not an expert, but in my experience, when a hard drive experiences problems, it just plain crashes and your computer's software usually provides ample warning of the impending crash. Most hard drive crases are nothing more than the result of the drive's bearings wearing out, thereby causing the disk to be misaligned.

As for brand names, Maxtor has always produced great hard drives that seem to last forever. The only other brand that comes to mind is Western Digital, which also had a good reputation a few years ago, and I assume they're still around.

Good Luck,

Gary