To me this system sounds like it has so many problems would a reload be and option? Do you have a windows CD for the PC?

just a recovery cd. they didnt give me the installation disk

do you need the data off the PC would it matter if it was fresh reloaded?

i've put most of it on the 2nd hard drive...still gotta move a few other things there too.
but for the most part, i could probably start fresh. do you really think it would help or would it be all for nothing?

I'd move all the stuff over to the there hard drive and remove it before doing the reload this is the best option because if the PC's hardware is ok you will have no problem with the reinstall and your PC will be 100% clean. It has quiet a few issues this will clean it right up it will also run alot better. If it crashes during the reinstall you have a hardware problem. With the recovery cd you set the PC to boot off the cd drive in your bios and insert the cd reboot the PC it will say press any key to boot from cd and follow the prompts from there

sorry i havent posted in a while...couldnt get to a computer. i tried the recovery cd for win xp and unfortunately it froze again. you know the sound the computer makes when its gathering info and installing components; it was fine til the fan changed speeds ( i dont know how else to explain it) i could hear the fan pick up speed, and thats when the computer froze. but i didnt open it up to see what it was. do you think it might be the fan, too much heat? i also noticed in the bios last time i looked, at the cpu temp. 84 degrees.
is that normal or is that too hot?