Hi, just woundering if anyone could help me out. Ive got a dell optiplex 270, 3.0ghz, 768 ram running on xp pro. And these last few days everytime i start it up it goes to the windows loding screen and then just turns off. Once i turn it back on again it bleeps twice and tells me to select either F1 or F2, then when it gets to the windows loading screen again it turns off. It does this every time i start it up and some times i get a message saying "pc shut down due to thermal event". But i don't get this all the time only a few times of trying to boot it up. I can eventually get it to work about half hour later when ive either tricked it or something to get it to load. Hope that makes sense and that some one could help me. Thanks alot :)

Sounds like your motherboard is overheating. There is a program that will prevent your harddrive from doing that and damaging itself. Also you might want to install another fan to circulate the air a little better. http://www.abxzone.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-69380.html Jim R

Thanks for your reply, do you know where i can get this program from that will prevent my hardrive from damaging itself? Thanks

It is probably your CPU that is overheating. Check your CPU fan is still working as that is the most likely culprit. There is nothing I know of that will shut down a hard disk if it overheats. They just don't get hot enough to warrant it. A CPU, especially an AMD, will fry itself withing seconds without adequate cooling so some kind of shut down mechanism is essential. A P4 has internal mechanisms to shut it down. AMD rely on external systems to shut it down. Stuart

pc shut down due to thermal event http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=pc+shut+down+due+to+thermal+event&btnG=Google+Search&meta= ======================================== Information about cleaning computer components http://www.computerhope.com/cleaning.htm Getting The Grunge Out Of Your PC http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=2 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=3 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=4 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=5 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=6 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403472&pgno=7 Fred Langa cleans the dirtiest PC he can find, and along the way shows you how you can easily tackle yours. ==================================== Maximum CPU temperatures http://www.tongfamily.com/guide_to_pcs/001386.html http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010917/ http://www.heatsink-guide.com/2hotornot.htm AMD http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpuprices/head_amd.htm Intel http://support.intel.com/support/processors/pentium4/sb/CS-007999.htm =================================== 1) Hot Chips, Cool Replies http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-15.htm http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=12802724 The current "Explorer" column at WinMag.Com ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/06.htm ) discusses how heat is the enemy of electronic devices--- including the CPU chip inside your PC. That article also shows you where to get software that can monitor the temperatures inside your PC, or even help to cool your CPU through a special software instruction that prevents "rapid idling" when your CPU briefly is between tasks. =================================== Blown and Leaking Motherboard Capacitors http://www.transmetazone.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195 ===================================== Motherboard/CPU temperature http://mbm.livewiredev.com/ http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=204 http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php MBProbe http://www.utilitygeek.com/details.php?fileid=85

Dust collects inside computers. I vacuum mine out once a year.

Nooooo... You never vacuum a computer out with a vacuum cleaner. What the heck are you thinking. Do you want to spend money on another computer?? You use a air gun to get all that dust out of your computer not a vacuum. A vacuum carries alot of static electricity. And as you know it is not dangerous to humans but for a computer it will completely detroy your computer to where it is not working. Never, and I say never use a vacuum cleaner for that.