OK, thanks so much for your time guys, I really appreciate all the xtra time you put in to helping me out :-)
I already reinstalled avast, we'll see .. but if I get the bsod again I know right where to go for help!
say, one final question- I installed the updated graphics card driver, but it was awful, when I moved folders around on my desktop they sort of rippled. My Win Patrol said my NvCplDaemon had been changed or removed. I googled that and it's from NVidia. Should I try to reinstall that driver?
I reverted back to the older one and all is working fine, but then I don't know if it would work better with an updated driver.
thanks again Elder, and Daavee :-)