My PC has contracted freezing disease. Ugh, ok it's a long-ish story:

My PC is a retail PC about 2 years old now. I've had probs from the start, including the same freezing problem i'm having now about a year ago - which was fixed by a technician by replacing the side fan which had fallen off. And by me buying a surge protected plug socket adaptor - technician reckoned it may also have been caused by power surges in the electricity supply. After this the machine ran fine for about a year - then a few weeks ago it started randomly freezing while i was on the computer, forcing me to shut it down everytime. I ran every virus scan, etc i could - but it weeded out no viruses or bugs whatsoever. So in the end i reinstalled Windows.

This was yesterday.... and already i'm getting the freezes again. Infact they're even worse now, it mianly freezes on the XP loading screen, or sometime during the load process, it's like Windows can't get fired up and just dies. But it's also freezing randomly during computer use aswell.

So am i right in concluding that it MUST be hardware related? And if so, what component is my best bet to replace? I can't afford to buy all new PC parts. But one thing is sure - i'm never buying a retail PC ever again. It cost me over £1000 and it's turned out to have had a lifespan of less than 2 years... pathetic.

PC's are much cheaper now but you could try taking the side panel off and make sure it is clean inside. PC's will reboot or stop working if they overheat. Make sure you put a pencil in the fan blades so they can't turn during cleaning. Use canned air to blow out the dust. Vacuums can generate static electricity so don't use it. After it's clean remove the pencils and start it up. Are all the fans turning? They do wear out! Leave the side panel off and see it works without freezing up. If it continues to freeze up, try placing a house fan blowing on the inside of the PC. If the freeze ups continue it may be a case of the paste between the cpu and the heatsink wearing out and will have to be replaced. More info about your PC might be helpful. What brand is it, model number, etc?

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Intel 6320
4 gigs ddr2 ram
160 gig sata
evga 8800 gts video card
vista home premium sp1 - 64 bit

It's a Fujitsu Siemens, not sure of the model. But it's 2 years old. Thanks for the tips.

yes you will also want to check the RAM if you have more then one stick in the computer remove one and see if it works if has same problems try the other stick.