Computer Crash when doing any sort of "work"

[SuperUstipak]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forums and pretty much computer illiterate.. I go online, download stuff, check my email, and that's about as much as I do/know.

Anyways, my computer has been crashing for a while now.

I started noticing while watching live streams of soccer games using programs like sopcast, justin.tv, etc..

Also if I'm charging my ipod for a few minutes, the computer will crash as well.

Watching youtube for a while does the same thing.

It's not a crash where it completely shuts down - the screen just goes black and it seems I'm just restarting.

I tried re-formating the computer (the only thing I thought I knew how to do) but even that was a failure. It would start the process and in the middle of it CRASH again, just like it does with the previously mentioned examples.

One of my friends thought it could be the cooling fans that are messed up, or the power supply cable (or something like that), and another one advised me to check out some BIOS settings but that is completely foreign to me and quite frankly out of my league.

oh, here's some quick specs:
3400+ AMD Athlon 64 Processor
200 GB Hard Drive
1024 MB Ram

So what would you guys suggest I do, with my very limited knowledge?
I wish there was a "fix-your-computer-for-dummies" forum

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[gavinseabrook]

As for the crashes, could you provide us with the STOP/BSOD Code?

 

[gbhall]

Strong symptoms of a poorly-performing power supply unit, otherwise overheating followed by thermal protection shutdown. Borrow or buy a similar power supply, but higher rated. Check that all the visible fans you can see are merrily spinning, especially in the PSU.

If you need further advice, you will have to give more information, like how old is the PC, it's make and model, what you have attached to it that draws current. What is the model and power rating of the PSU?