We've had SO many problems with this thing. First Internet Explorer died so we got firefox (love it) and then it just crashed. It couldn't locate a file, said it was corrupted, so we re-installed windows, wiping everything out. THat worked for a couple days, then it REALLY died. Said it couldn't read disk? So we bought a new hard drive, installed it, reinstalled windows XP pro, and it's working pretty good except about once a day, it just freezes. THe first time, I was able to get the little options menu up and tell it restart, but last night it froze for HOURS and we had to just turn it off and back on ( I know, cringe!)

So, WHAT could be wrong with this piece of crap? ANy ideas at all?

What is the piece of crap? Can you post some specs for us?

the CPU is an HP Pavillion 531w..?

Intel Celeron
1300MHz
1.29 GHz
512 MB of RAM


That is the extent of my knowledge, if you need more indo, i just need to know how to get it.

I would suspect the crappy HP (possible Bestec) power supply is failing.

I've heard that from a couple people, I was just confused as to how that would manifest itself in this way. How do replace the power supply?

Bestec power supplies used in HP/Compaq and Emachines are low quality junk. They die easily and sometimes take the motherboard with them. To change the power supply you need to unplug the power cord then take the case cover off of the computer. Usually four screws on the back of the computer hold the power supply in place. Ther are several connections from the power supply to the motherboard, optical drive(s), floppy drive and hard drive(s). You will need to purchase a decent power supply of the same type (ATX) that is a known good brand with an adequate power rating (usually 200W-300W). You wil have to remember what power plugs go where and in the proper orientation.

I use this power supply as a direct replacement for that HP system. In fact I am running that same power supply in my custon built computer until I buy a replacement for my old 400W unit. It handles my PC quite adequately.

SPARKLE FSP250-60ATV ATX 250W Power Supply 115/230 V UL 1950, CSA C22.2 Level 3, TUV 60950, NEMKO - OEM

Look here for a decent, illustrated article about replacing to power supply.

Thank you so much for the great advice, I will get right on this!