I recently(last sunday) got a new computer, with a +3500 ATHLON processor, X700 ATI RaedonVideo Card, 200gb HD and 1gb RAM. The computer is more or less fine, except everyonce in a while(once a day) the computer will lock up on me, And I will have to reboot anywhere between 3-10 times before I can get to my desktop. It otherwise freezes up at the Bios, the Windows loading screen, or a black one. Any idea will be greatly appreciated.Bad or mismatched RAM, a power supply not up to the job and overheating are the usual suspects. Is this a totally new build with a new power supply? WHat make and wattage? You can test your RAM with a quick download at www.memtest86.com - Test each stick at a time, then all together for about an hour each. Can you test your system temps? Does this do the lockup from a cold start or just when it's been running? If so, during gaming or some other intnse activity?

More info please. It happens usually after I'm playing TES:IV, or CS:S but sometimes it will lock up on the first boot of the day...the bios gives me the temp, but I dont believe it. This morning, after it had been in a realitivly cold room, it said it was 102F, which is obsurd, because after 12 hours in 60 degree room, it probably wouldnt be that cold.Sorry about the 2 posts but I had to grab the bus, but to answer the rest of your questions; I dont know the make of the powersupply, but when I get home, I'll take a look and find out what kind, I think it is a 420 watt powersupply. I downloaded the Memtest, I'll give that a run tonight and post the results tomarrow. It has 2 or 3 fans, although if that isnt enough, I'm gonna need a tutorial on installing new fans too...but if it is overheating, I'll sneeze on it and make it catch a cold! What if you take the side of the case off and blow a fan directly in there?If I had a fan, I would :-/
Could you reccomend an effective(and cheap) source of cooling, that I could install myself?
I USED the memtest, the RAM is fineyou play CS?



If your computer doesn't even get so far as to try the hard disk, or perhaps not even print anything on the screen, you probably do have some TYPE of hardware problem. For example if the computer simply beeps a few times and then does nothing ... that's the POST telling you something's wrong. For what ever reason it might not be ABLE to display an error message, so it simply beeps in a pattern to tell you what it's found. They vary based on the brand of your computer or BIOS, but POST beep codes can often give a technician a quick idea of exactly what might be wrong.

And finally, when you turn on the power, if your computer does nothing at all, obviously something's seriously wrong. In my experience, it's typically the power supply that has failed, however it's also possible that critical components on the motherboard have failed, or that a peripheral card has been inserted improperly or has failed in such a way as to prevent the rest of the system from working at all.

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Today's computers, and the operating systems that run them, are incredibly complex animals. Each problem will have it's own unique cause. Hopefully this overview, and some of the resources LISTED below, will help you at least understand the nature of problems you may be having, and perhaps even help you resolve them yourself.