ok, i think my unit's been working long enuf without this problem coming up again to assume i have fixed the problem.

after all the headbanging wondering what the problem was i decided to check the one thing i suspected before (and its the first thing in the FAQ) - IDE cable. this time i pulled the whole cable out of the computer and inspected it like a madman in macro mode. i found that the connector on the motherboard end had the tineiest arc in it, such that the pins in the middle were actually slightly visible inbetween the plastic and the grey ribbon cable. i pressed the black plastic down hard and this sealed off the gap again - took a bit of pressure.

after reassembly and testing it till now, i have not seen the stoned tux at all.

just thought id report this here hopefully others still getting this excruciating problem might be able to look into this yet again and hopefully cure their problem too.

goodluck

-nige