Try booting from a floppy first. If it does the same thing, then you have a hardware problem
IT's a desktop---AMD/AThlon/XP....I can't turn it on until I disconnect my own. I brought it home with me. I never thot about the power supply....how can I tell if it's burning out? Or if the battery is dying?
Try booting from a floppy first. If it does the same thing, then you have a hardware problem
If the case is running hot, it will start acting weird. Computers act weird when they get hot, or when the power supply is about to crap out on you.
You might want to get into the BIOS to see PC Health , will tell the temp of the processor...
The AMD Athlon processors run hot, and can also be a cause of the rebooting problems....
Just be methodical and see if you can eliminate the various Hardware problems before you go to the more major efforts regarding software and malware........
Not sure how you elimanate the power supply problems other than perhaps disconnecting some components, how much is in the machine and can you tell the rating of the powersupply? ..
Would need to open the box and look at the label on the side of the power supply ( hmm...if it is failing that won't help you much. ) Is this a Brand name box, HP, Dell, ?
Boot into safe mode and to take care of business