Nap if your going to throw away that computer.. send it to me. I'll pay the freight. LOL
It may be as simple as the power connection loose at the mobo (mother board) or it could be that the chip is getting too hot and an internal program designed to protect the chip is shutting the system down. Or the heat sync needs to be removed and cleaned (they tend to build up dust over time that can clog the fins) clean the fins add a dab of heat sink goo and place it back on.
A simple trouble shoot would be to open the case (GROUND YOUR SELF OFF BY TOUCHING METAL BEFORE TOUCHING ANY PORTION OF THE BOARD) and blow the heat sync off with canned air and retry. Might as well double check you PWR connections while your in there.
My system was getting hot so I opened up the side panel and have a small 120v fan pointing at the CPU. (did that a month ago) No problems since.
It could also be a front power switch going bad or something as simple as a loose power cord or old weak surge protector or wall outlet.
We just built a system for my son a few weeks back and this started happening to him a few days ago. After him getting a bit frustrated yesterday afternoon and him telling me he tried all the external suggestions... I took a look at it.
BINGO the main connection coming from the power supply that plugs into the mobo was loose. (New boards tend to be hard to get some connections into because they are new and one can easily BREAK a new board if they are not patient when connecting PCI devises, Ram and other items including PWR connections fans and such.)
Anyway the problem was solved by making sure the main connection was snapped all the way into place and was achieved by opening up the tower on both sides. Supporting the portion of the mobo where the connection was located and snapping the connector in place. Problem solved all in under 5 mins of my time.
Dad's can be such heroes and so easy some days. LOL
I wish I could have got online to read this beforehand...lol
I just went and bought a whole new PC.....lol
Thanks for the info though......I will definitely check it out. I did notice a lot of dust in the back of the tower. The monitor just needs to be shot...lol
Nappers, you probably will want to remove the hard drive from that or else wipe the h**l out of it with Mutilate File Wiper or something. Anything you put in there is still likely to be on it somewhere. I personally know someone who set their old PC out at the curb and they had big problem$ from it, because all their info was still in it.
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