that didn't take long... a few minutes running orthos with dram voltage @ 1.8v and I had myself a driver_irql_not_less_or_equal BSOD.
Thank you so much to those involved in solving my problem and especially to you dk70.
THREAD CONCLUSION: INSUFFICIENT RAM VOLTAGE.
LESSON: CHECK YOUR HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS AND ENSURE YOUR MEETING THEM!
Thanks again guys.
Dan