I posted this on the OS boards :http://www.pchelpforum.com/windows-v...boot-rc-2.html.
I thought that my OS was my problem, but I now think it may be a CPU problem.

My symptoms are:

Random, arbitrary restart. No shutdown screen, just black, and a single BIOS beep, then it starts up again. I've talked to people at my school, and they think it may be that the CPU is not properly ventilated, or not connected to the heat-sink. My CPU (Intel i5 750) didn't come with thermal glue, or specifically point to it in the manual. However, I'm thinking I may need some.

I checked the fans, and every-time the PC shuts down, they're blowing out cold air, so the rest of the computer isn't overheating. Need I remount the CPU fan/heat-sink, and if so, should I pick up some thermal glue?

yes definatly get some thermal paste, as the cpu gets hot it needs to disipate that heat somehow and if its not got good conductivity to the heat sink it will overheat very quickly, possibly with damage being incured

Still not working.

I re-pasted the CPU, and it worked for a while, but while re-installing Windows 7, it still shuts off in the middle. I got it to almost the end, but it still choked up at the last minute, and now I'm getting miffed.

I know that I'm not an expert at PC build, but I'm pretty sure that the thermal paste I put on the CPU was good, and that the heat-sink was on tight enough. Should I take it to a professional, or try again?

Wow, you were running the CPU without thermal paste?! The paste is intended to fill the tiny gaps in the imperfect surfaces between the CPU heat spreader and the heatsink - a very vital part of cooling your CPU. There's a chance you've already fried your chip, just from using that little bit of time.

When it boots up, get into the BIOS and check out the CPU temperature - if you don't already know, it should be in a section labeled something resembling "Hardware Monitoring". Post the temp here please.

I had CPU paste, that came with the chip. But, I took everything apart when I had a silly video issue, and so put on new paste.

Anyway, the Hardware Monitoring says:

Processor Thermal Margin: 35C
Internal Temp: 42C
Remote Temp 43C

Which is weird, because my fan is blowing out cold air.
I tried to reinstall Windows 7 several times, and each time it would drop out on me. Probably not a good thing...

Update:

My dad insisted on re-installing Windows 7 after I formated the drive, and only worked when the side of the case was off, and he took out one stick of RAM (which I have yet to put back in.)

I also installed CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while installing Safari (I like it), it got up to 53C, which I think might be rather high, while idling at around 35-40C. I've looked at others boards, and they say they idle at around 27-30C. Do I need to re-do the thermal paste (again), or should I but a different CPU heatsink/fan?

hello

dependant on what you have in the system i wouldnt say that 53 degrees was too hot personally, you can download free a prog called speedfan from here Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer
which will report the temperatures for you ,what thermal paste did you use ? if you wish to try and get the temps down further you would find
one of the best around is arctic silver compound, you could try a larger fan unit (have you removed the fan from the heat sink and checked for any build up of dust inside the heatsink)
please get back to us with the temps from speedfan