Yesterday, I had this problem happen to me. Now, whenever I boot the computer, once WinXP finishes loading, my computer beeps and freezes within a minute or two and I have to turn it off. Booting in safe mode seems to buy me a few more minutes but the same thing happens.

I haven't made any hardware changes to my computer lately, so I suspect one of the following:

1) RAM needs replacing
2) power supply needs replacing
3) CPU and/or motherboard needs replacing

However, I can't get the computer to boot long enough to run a memory test. The CPU, RAM, and motherboard I just installed in June but the power supply is from 2002. What should I do? I'd rather not shell out the bucks to replace all of the above if it's not necessary.

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

Edited to remove "hive mind" from the title per SteyrAUG's request

As you can see from down at the bottom it could be a number of issues.

1.) Over Heating of a Component. (happend to me on my video card)
2.) Talks about over clocking?  Are you over clocking?
3.)  Talks about memory.  Add any new memory lately?

How old is the computer?

If its not a newer computer, and you never added any new parts, I would suggest you open up the computer and check all the fans and the heat sinks.  Are they clogged with Dust?  If so clean those puppies out.  My issue I dealt wtih was fans were clogged on video card and I had to re-apply thermal grease to the fan.

I also had a heating issue with my CPU and it was same issue.  Needed to clean out the heat sink and re-apply thermal grease.

If I had to bet, I would say Your heat sinks and fans need cleaned inside.  Then let it sit for awhile.  Those components get hot fast, therefore to verify this works, you need to let them cool down.

Process of elimination. Swap parts with a working computer. Measure your rails with a multimeter. The PSU usually craps out first, but many problems are caused by overheating, so it's hard to say. You're going to have to do some work here. My guess is your processor is way too hot or your PSU is crapping out.

Sell it and buy a Mac. Problem solved.

I relied o this but I dont know where it went.

First thing I would do is reseat your RAM, video card if not on board and your CPU. I would make shure there is good contact with your fan and heatsink on the CPU. Make shure there is the right amount of thermal paste.

Quoted: Sell it and buy a Mac. Problem solved.

It's not a software problem - it's a hardware problem.

Crack open your PC and power it up. Make sure all fans are spinning.

Swap out the Power Supply Unit with a known good one - hit up a family member or friend.

Do the same for memory and the video card.

Av.

OK the problem seems to have gone away by itself, however whenever I boot up now, I get a message saying that my motherboard's RAID driver has encountered an error and needs to close. I don't use RAID so is it OK if I just disable this driver from loading and forget about this entire incident? Or is this symptomatic of more impending problems with my motherboard?

Incidentally, all my fans are working and nothing is overclocked. The CPU heatsink is cool to the touch. I also ran a memory test and my RAM is fine.