MSI K7N2-L - Problems (IDE, therm-sensors, etc...)

I recently started setting up another system. My configuration is as follows:

MSI K7N2-L MB
AthlonXP 2000
256 MB PC2100
Maxtor 40GB ATA133
Geforce 4 MX440.

I first found problems with the CPU temperature rising. After therm-probing the area, I have concluded that the therm-sensors are not working correctly. I have read about the same problem on many boards elsewhere. My primary concern is that it is having a lot of trouble "talking" to my HDD. I booted my Win2kPro CD and created a partition, then proceeded to format NTFS. After about an *hour* it was around 40% done then stated that there was a problem accessing the drive. I then tried formatting the drive with a Win98 boot disk using FAT32. I started by deleting the current partition and creating a new one. It started to test "drive integritiy" at an extremely slow rate. After about 30 minutes (which should have been 1 second) it asked if I want to use the full potential (or whatever it says) of the drive. I said 'Y' and it just sat there. I tried another drive and it was worse. I have also tried other IDE cables and had no luck. I am currently formatting the drive on another system to see if it's a drive problem. I have successfully booted a Knoppix Demo Disc and it ran extremely well (except for the hassle of loading things from a CD). I currently suspect the MB. I have also gone to msicomputer.com to find a bios update, but their webserver seems to be down. (ugh) Has anyone else seen anything like this or have any suggestions? Thanks!

You talk better than you fool!