Hiii. I am pretty much new to computers, and just recently (well about 6 months ago) bought my first computer off e-bay. And although I really regret buying a computer off of e-bay, I'm kinda stuck with this one for a long time. I don't anything about this computer, or computers in general really. So I'm kinda just rambling here I guess.

But anyways, the first problem was my computer would constantly go to a blue screen and make a constant error noise, so I would have to press the restart button on the tower. I had a friend fix that and I'm not sure exactly what he did, the main thing he did was reformat it and make sure that my harddrive and stuff was in good condition.
He did this about 2 months ago and I haven't had any blue screens, but now my computer CONSTANTLY freezes. At first it hardly ever froze, just every now and then. But then it started getting worse and worse and now it's like I can't be on the computer without it freezing every 15 minutes. It doesn't matter if I have 10 things open and I'm trying to do a bunch of stuff at once, or I have nothing open and am just browsing through a folder or something. It's really random and it's like I don't have to be doing anything for it to freeze, you know. So when it freezes I have to press the restart button on my tower, or I've waited to see what happens and my computer will eventually just restart itsself.
Also, my computer seems to restart itsself alot when I am playing a game, and it seems like the only time it will just randomly restart is while playing a game. Currently the only game I have installed, and am playing is this Morrowind game. The graphics are definately not crazy and my computer should be able to handle it. Plus I played games just fine on it when I first got it, and back then I was playing games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy Online.
So anyways, I'm not sure what could be causing all this. One thing I did notice is that the copy of Windows XP I have isn't the real thing. It's burnt or something I guess because it's just a plain colored CD that says "Windows XP Home Edition with service pack 2 version 2002." And the CD key is taped to the case it's in. So I was wondering if I had an actual Windows XP disc if that would help?
Also I figure my tower is probably getting pretty dirty, seeing as I have quite a few dogs and I don't exactly dust the house, etc. I was going to go out and buy that air stuff you use to clean keyboards, but a friend told me that it's bad to use those on towers. If this is true then what is a good way to clean my tower?
Well I'm pretty sure that's it. Hopefully someone out there can give me some info to get me going in the right direction :] It would be greatly appreciated. And if you need more information or questions then I will do the best I can. Sorry for such a long post !

- Sean

To start with, you've told almost nothing about your system specs other than you have a P4 1.8GHz w/512MB RAM. We'd need to know the make/model of the motherboard, make/model of the video card, & make/model/wattage of the power supply...along with the amperage ratings on the +3.3v, +5v, & +12v rails.

Immediately pulling the trigger of the "reformat gun" shows a lack of troubleshooting knowledge. Wiping the hard drive & reinstalling Windows isn't simple...there are numerous drivers that have to be installed afterwards, including (but not limited to) the motherboard chipset, video, sound, modem, network, etc. Did you receive all the necessary driver discs with your "new" PC?

Have you opened the case & looked inside yet? Remove the side panel & check that all the fans & heatsinks aren't loaded with dust...if they are, get a can of compressed air & blow them out. Do NOT use a vacuum! Double check that all the cards & memory sticks are fully seated in their slots...something may have gotten knocked loose during shipping. Leave the side cover off & fire up the machine to check that all fans are working properly.

Your current problem sounds like it *may* be an overheating issue. Don't worry though, you can't overheat a P4 to death...it has built-in overheat protection & will simply shutdown before it fries. Have a look at the temp readings in the BIOS. This is generally done by pressing the DEL key during bootup. Look for a message on the screen that says "Press DEL to enter setup" & do it as soon as you see it. If you do it to late, the system will simply boot into Windows & you'll have to try again. Once you get into the BIOS, find a menu item called PC Health (or something similiar). Check your CPU temp & wait on the screen a minute or two to see if it gradually increases. It should be in the 30s to low 40s at idle...if it reaches 50C & climbing, you have a problem. You'll need to remove the CPU heatsink/fan, thoroughly clean it, apply a fresh layer of thermal compound, & reinstall it.

Alrite, wow ! Thanks for the fast reply jam :] And yes I am sorry for the lack of information but like I said I really know nothing about computers period, let alone my own computer :[ I plan on taking some computer classes in college though to at least learn the basics. All I did to find out some info. on my computer was right click on my computer, heh. So I'm not sure if there's a way to find out more about my computer but yeah. I have this post book-marked and also have a friend coming over later who knows a bit about computers. So I'll have him read over this and me and him are gona see what we can do. I'll post back here when I find out more. Thanks again :]

This program (CPU-Z v1.38) will tell you the basics about your CPU, motherboard, & RAM. Just download it, unzip, & click on CPUZ.exe:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

If you suspect a RAM problem, download Memtest86 v3.2. Get the "Pre-Compiled Memtest86 v3.2 installable from Windows and DOS" version. Download it, unzip, & click on INSTALL.BAT...make sure you have a blank floppy ready to go. The memtest program will be copied to the floppy & the floppy will be made bootable. Then all you need to do it boot off the floppy & let the test run for at least one complete series (it may take 30 min or so). If any errors are reported, you can be reasonably sure the RAM is bad:

http://www.memtest86.com/#download0

Another program that may help you to identify your hardware is Everest Home Edition 2.20:

http://www.filehippo.com/download_e...

Oki, my friend came over and had already recommended this mem-test program. So he downloaded that and ran it, said that there was no problems with my RAM. He said I should definately get an actual copy of Windows XP because the burnt copy I have could be causing problems, and he said to also get some compressed air or whatever and blow out my tower really good just to top it off.
I also downloaded this CPU-Z program but I still don't know where to find out details about my computer =/