Vlk,
Sorry about not compressing the dump file before sending it. I was so excited that I figured out how to FTP it to you that I just sent it off without thinking.
With some luck, the upload should be finished in a few hours.
I got to thinking about why this boot hang seems to be such an isolated problem. On April 10, Microsoft issued a number of critical XP patches which changed what I believe are core system files, and which I installed when Windows Update offered them last Tuesday. For example,
KB931784 provided new versions of ntkrnlmp.exe, ntkrpamp.exe, ntoskrnl.exe and ntkrnlpa.exe;
KB930178 issued a new version of winsrv.dll;
KB925902 installed updated versions of mf3216.dll, gdi32.dll, win32k.sys and user32.dll;
KB931261 gave us a new upnphost.dll; and
KB932168 updated xpsp3res.dll and agentdpv.dll
Perhaps something new in one or more of these updated core files caused .981 to hang a bit at boot up when the "group" registry setting is enabled.
I would also add that the HAL.dll that my system is using is actually renamed from halmacpi.dll for my dual-core processor. This file is version 5.1.2600.2180 and dated 2/28/2006.
Thanks again for your patience with me in this process and for your quick help in tracking down whatever the issue might be.
Regards,
Crashman