Comp hangs

Nowadays, when i start up my comp, it keeps locking up and I have to restart several times before it is able to operate properly, however ,after long hrs of usuage (6hrs,7hrs), it will lock up again.

The thing is sometimes when i restart my comp, my monitor power indicator keeps flashing and I have to restart many times before it becomes ok.

My comp specs are
-AMD XP2000
-ECS kvta3 motherboard
-Geforce 4 Ti 4200
-WinXP Professional(everything is updated)


Another thing is, my comp tends to overheat, so I take off part of the casing and let my fan blow into it. Could overheating be causing the problem?

Thanks

Could be temp or PSU problems- what are your temps and voltages like?

Overheating could definitely be the problem, especially after 6-7hrs of running time. Are you overclocked?? what are the temps?

If on the otherhand this happens on a cold boot as well then you may have additional problems, PSU or shortening out somewhere IMO

Try leaving the side open and see if your PC performs better...
I leave my case's side open all the time.

You might want to check if the heatsink is seated correctly. Or change to a better thermal paste to improve cooling.

i really think its the psu

do you got another one laying around and test if it works

dr. Sledgehammer wants to look at the PSU. He will give it some tender loving care.

What is a PSU? and ummm, I took out the side of my casing long ago. I have a big *** fan that blows directly into it.It locks up even when it is quite cool. This problem came quite recently. Previously, my computer worked like a dream.

PSU=power supply unit.
Do you have a windows app that shows your voltages- you normally get one on the Mboard install CD? It will also show your CPU temperature.
If you have been running with the side off for a while it is possible your CPU heatsink/fan is full of fluff/dust. Try taking the fan off and have a look.

Is there any website where I can download such a software? Also, if the problem is with the PSU, what should I do?

You can use mbm5-http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
you will need to configure the sensors- check the Motherboard list on the site.
We don't know it is the PSU yet but if it is you will need to buy another one with more power. Wait till you get MBM5 installed so we can see your voltages and temps.

Ok, I dun know what I am looking at here, but this is what it says.
Case-42 degrees
CPU-52 degrees
Sensor 3-0 degrees
Core 0-1.73v
Core 1-2.53v
+3.3-3.14v
+5.00-4.91v
+12.00-12.40v
-12.00- -3.55v

Well assuming the temps are at idle (ie in the BIOS)- your case temp is too high indicating you have a poorly ventilated case and likewise your CPU temp is a bit high- likely to get over 60.C under load. Try running with the side off to see if the temps drop.
The voltages all look ok apart from the 3.3V which is just out of spec (+ or - 5%)

I have another problem, sometimes when I click "turn off", my comp restarts instead.

Sounds like the PC is crashing on exit and then restarting.
You need to turn off restart on error- go to: control Panel\System\Advanced\Startup and Recovery settings\system failure
Turn off automatic restart.

this should then tell you the error rather than restarting.