running out of options

[darkunited]

Hello everyone,

Not sure if where to post this so it landed here. I am fixing a computer for a co-worker. I assumed it would be a simple format and reinstall of her windows vista. Once i reinstalled the OS and gave her the pc back in working order. For whatever reason when she received it it would not start up and would freeze on the windows load in screen or would freeze before that point. Sometimes it would get the blue screen. I took her pc back and tried reinstalling windows again but now it freezes before the windows installation can even begin. I then used kill disk pro to do a full format and tried installing windows 7 this time. Same results, it freezes, this time when trying to install windows it stops at 0% of the install. I've tried multiple versions of windows. I ran memtest86 and i ran Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (DFT) to test both the memory and hard drive, both came back error free. I am unsure what to do at this point. Could it be the mobo is dying or possibly the CPU?? It's an older pc (HP Slimline s3407c)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[TbsToy]

Electronics don't last forever, not hardly. Sometimes when a machine is old it just isn't worth trying to repair it, just like an auto. If it is a Vista machine it might be past it's useful life. Repairs vs replacement.
W.P.

 

[darkunited]

understandable, however they use it primarily to browse the internet so if it boils down to replacing a cheap part it may be worth it.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Sometimes it would get the blue screen.

BSOD error code could help understanding the problem.
Anyway - such freezes could be caused by bad ram, motherboard, hdd, psu and overheating (of cpu or chipset).

My bet would be on overheating of chipset. Nvidia chipset motherboards are famous for that.

 

[TbsToy]

If you can isolate that maybe only one cheap part. One is never out of options til the end. Time and energy vs money. P.C.s are really inexpensive today for moderate machines. Trying to help others is good. Best of luck.
W.P.

 

[herrwizo]

Can you check the CPU temperature in BIOS? This could help, although it's "idle" temp, but it should give a pretty good idea if the CPU is overheating or not.