Computer problems resolved (sort of)

The computer starts up quickly again!

Stella thought that something might be wonky with the DVD burner, since it also sometimes did strange things when playing DVDs, so she unplugged it this morning—and lo and behold, the Pentium logo only appeared briefly, and she said that even the Windows start-up screen was there for a shorter time than usual!

So, I suppose that's good. At least, until I want to backup stuff or otherwise burn CDs or DVDs.