Problem with either OS or the hardware...not sure

[Pyrophi]

I have a problem with my new computer. Specs:

3.2ghz P4
ATI radeon 9800 128mb
400w pw supply
P4VM8 Asus motherboard

I'm not too sure what the problem is but my computer seems to load up fine until i get to the windows load up screen (the bit with the blue/green bar running across) it gets to this screen and then it stops thinking completelyand it goes to a black screen. The monitor is still on just that the cpu does no thinking (no light comes on) and the screen is blank. Before it, it does prompt me by saying that Windows did not load up properly and asks what i'd like to use safe mode etc. If I choose safe mode a list of files pops up and then that stops too. The annoying thing is that this has been my pet project over summer and I really want to get this to work...please please please can anybody help me...???

It might also help that this isn't the first time its happened. With a small 4gb fujitsu hdd i installed the OS and it worked fine for a few times until the above happened. I thought it could be something to do with the hdd and i got a new WD 200gb one and it worked perfectly for 4 days (yesterday) until i tried to switch it on then it 'died' on me again. Please does anybody know what is wrong??

 

[DonNagual]

Could be so many different things, so I will give you a list of things I would check if I were you to help troubleshoot.

I'd check my temps first, to see if you are overheating. As you can't even load into windows, I guess your only option is to check the temps in the BIOS. If you can get into windows, load up a temp monitoring software (such as motherboard monitor).

If you CAN get into windows once and a while, I would also take a quick look at your event viewer to see if it is giving any hints as to what is causing your freezing. Right click on "my computer" to to "manage" then "event viewer". Look around in there a bit to see what kinds of errors your system is posting.

How up to date is your motherboard's bios? How about the drivers for your vid card and other hardware? Always the chance that a bios update will solve everything.

Have you tried to "repair" or "re-instal" windows? A repair may fix you up if it is a software problem, but I like to reinstal windows once a year or so just to clean out all the junk. Something to think about, but just make sure you have all your drivers handy. Keep in mind though, that if you have some faulty hardware that caused windows to go corrupt, reinstalling won't fix that. You need to find the hardware that is faulty.

Another thing you could test is your ram. What you describe would make sense if your ram was faulty. Download a diagnostic program here: www.memtest.org and let it run for a couple of hours.

If all of that above doesn't fix you up, I would start looking at the powersupply. What brand is it? Even though it is a 400W, if it is a cheap maker, it may be junk. Do you have another computer around with a PSU you can swap as a test?