helix gnome 1.2 breaks rpm

["David B. van Balen" <vanbalen mc edu>]

I recently attempted to install helix gnome 1.2 on a Mandrake 7.0 system
and the install crashed. After that, rpm wouldn't work right: if I tried
to install, upgrade or uninstall an rpm, it would begin hitting the HDD
non-stop, rendering the system practically unusable until something
crashed.
I finally ended up reinstalling the OS and made a second attempt at
installing Gnome 1.2. this time, the install was successful, but rpm
promptly broke again. Has anyone else had this happen? Is there a fix?

Any help would be appreciated.

DvB