Need some computer hardware/software help (possible virus)

[LikeCDoos]

Alright my family computer has been acting up lately. Last week the RAM went bad so i replaced that. Now this week it has been shutting off randomly for the past few days. I do not have enough time to run a virus scan all the way through and I have been told that these are the symptoms of a power supply going bad. So i went and picked up andother power supply and threw it in, and unfortunetly it didn't fix anything.

It doesn't pop up with a window counting down til the shut down...it will just randomly do it. It can be after 15 min of run time or even only a few seconds. I don't know if there are any viruses with these symptoms...or it could be a hardware problem. The only things left that can be causing this is the video card, processor, or motherboard.

Anything helps guys...if i don't get any solutions here i'm going to take it apart and troubleshoot to see if it is the hardware causing this problem.

Here are some breif specs:
P4 2.0 Ghz 533 FSB
Kingston 512MB DDR400
Intel D845BG Mobo
ATI Radion 9200 Video Card
WD 80GB HD

[spencers]

format, reinstall winblows

[Tangent]

Make sure that the CPU cooling fan is running, that the heatsink isn't clogged with dust, etc...

If you have only one stick of RAM try swapping the slot it's in. If you have 2 sticks remove one of them, run the computer, if it shuts down replace it with the other and try it again.

Start it with a bootable disk in the CD or floppy drive and let it sit there not booting into windows and see if it shuts down still. If it does you can rule out it being Windows or hardware drivers being the problem.

[decay]

if nothing Tangent said fixes the problem, also try a known good power supply from another computer.

[KenC]

Make sure that the CPU cooling fan is running, that the heatsink isn't clogged with dust, etc...

The same exact thing as you describe happened to mine. I pulled it apart and realized that the heatsink wasn't sitting properly atop the CPU. I just pulled it off, aligned it, applied some thermal grease, and it was just like new.

[LikeCDoos]

I will try switching the RAM slots and boot off a CD. Never thought about that. I already tried a brand new Power Supply. and I also just reformatted and reinstalled XP last week. If you guys have any other suggestions keep them comming. I will keep you posted on this hell of a computer situation.

[LikeCDoos]

Alright it looks like it's a virus :(. I booted the system off a CD and it's still running after an hour or so. Anyone know of any viruses with these symptoms and how to remove it quickly?

[iXer]

Donwload and burn this ISO to a CD and then boot up from it:

http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-3.1a.iso.zip

Here is the website of Memtest86:

http://www.memtest86.com/

When memtest86 is running it is continously testing your memory until you reset the computer, the power goes out or you press 'Esc'.

It should be able to run 24 without any errors and does imply a cpu load, something which is not guarantueed with any boot CD I know besides the "Ultimate Boot CD":

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

(memtest86 and CPU Burn are integrated on this one!)

[spencers]

Alright it looks like it's a virus :(. I booted the system off a CD and it's still running after an hour or so. Anyone know of any viruses with these symptoms and how to remove it quickly?

:(

format, reinstall winblows

:)
OR, Find out what Virii you have and find the inoculations on symantec's website