I have a Compaq Presario 5000. It will run about 20 minutes, then quit. By "quit" , I mean the screen goes black, there is no hard disk, floppy disk, or CD activity. The fans stop spinning, and the only sign the computer is not completly off is the power light on the tower is on. Other than that, nothing. I thought it was the Hard drive, but I replaced it, and the problem persists. How can I determine where the problem lies??? I have another computer in my house, but it's a Gateway, so I don't think I can swap the motherboard, memory, or processor. Can anyone advise?

Sorry to say Rog, but you've been looking at the wrong things. Compaq is notorious for using the bareback of hardware when they build systems. Meaning they only use the minimum required stuff to turn the computer on and leave little to no room for future upgrades. I'm betting you've added a few things over time and apparently your POWER UNIT is no longer capable of supplying the required juice. It's overheating and now the thermal protection kicked in and shut it down. First, make sure the fan is clear of dust and not obstructed. Second make sure the fan to the power unit is even going on. If it still fails, it may be time to get another power unit. If I'm not mistaken, the 500 series came with a measly 150W unit. Go with something in the lines of 300 or more. They're not that hard to replace and not that expensive. Just make sure you plug everything in the way it was. Good luck!

I agree with hapeekrapee , sounds like overheating to me. This may sound a bit bold if your not the type for tearing into a computer but open it up and either blow out the dust (or what looks like chocolate cake) if it's been a while or suck it out with a vacume. I'm still plunkin away on this old HP that I have had for 6 years now. I feel because I am picky about dust lol. The PSU upgrade is also a great idea if you can afford a good one. This is an area I have found that spending a few extra bucks for a better unit will pay off.

Thanks for the tips - I looked at the power supply, and it was the problem. The fan wasn't spinning. The problem is, Compaq makes their fans proprietary, so I have to buy it from them. Instead of $25 for a generic fan, Compaq wants $120. Oh well, thanks for solving the problem.