That is really not good. Task Manager should never shut down on its own. You may very well be looking at a reinstall of the OS.
Just do it. You're better off backing up your data, repartitioning and reformatting the disk. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BOOT DISKS FOR YOUR OS!
I thought you didn't have to have a boot disk for XP? What's the best way to back up the data on the hard drive if I must do a reformat and what's the best way to partition a drive? I already asked a bunch of partition questions in a previous thread but don't remember which, does anybody else know so I don't have to repeat myself?
andymoon explained it already..... I mentioned it cause you obviously are looking for all options other than to have to reload...At least give it a shot...it couldnt hurt. if it wont work in Safe Mode...then you must reload and reinstall.