My daughter called me at my office late this afternoon... she was all in a dither. Seems her computer was locking up after just a few minutes. So on my way home I stopped and picked up her and the computer from her Mom's, and set to work on it once home here. It took me only a few minutes to find the problem. The BIOS was showing 57C at start-up! Since I had built the box for her I knew it very well, and I noticed right away that the CPU heatsink wasn't the stock one I had originally installed. Seems her step-brother had installed a "really cool" round one he had found (cheap). He had installed it backwards, but I had it safely off in just a few minutes. Popped the fan off and found this:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/87603.jpgThe cooler had been in the computer for a little over a year in a relatively dust free home. Funny how these boxes-of-bits attract dust... no so funny when they start choking in the stuff.Greg

My daughter's computer runs 24/7. It has two 4in case fans and the power supply fan. I routinely have to vacuum the case inlet and outlet openings. I have replaced the case fans about four times in six yrs. One found another dead one a couple of weeks ago.W. Sieffert