Originally posted by Reveille:
until I did a reformat to fix an issue with having my computer giving me BSODs after 5 minutes of use
Reveille. Do you still remember what you did during the five minutes of use? It would be helpful if you can pinpoint the "trigger" of your BSOD.
Since your post is too vague for me to completely understand your situation, I can only give you general advice.
1) Download a Memory Diagnostic, and test your system memories. If there are errors, it means it's time to change the memory.
Windows Memory Diagnostic
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp2) Download your Hard Drive diagnostic software. If there are errors, change your hard drive.
My Computer -> Properties -> System Properties -> Device Manager -> Disk Drive -> Your Hard Drive -> Update Driver
None of the above?
3) Your processor might be the one that is overheated.
Check that the fans are running, and reboot your computer. Press DEL repeatedly before logon to enter the BIOS screen. Leave your computer running for approximately one to one and a half hours. If the Windows crashed, your processor is definitely overheated. Buy a new processor.
4) Unplug everything from your computer, as in mouse, keyboard, drives, cards, memories, etc. Reboot your computer. If it can work, then plug each one back one by one to see which "triggered" the failure.
5) Reinstall XP again.