Re: is my computer kaput?
I have a Dell of about the same vintage (almost 4 years old now). Dells from that era did have some power supply issues. My original power supply died about 1 month after the warranty expired, and looking at Dell Forums I found a lot of people had the same problem, and many who called Dell support had the problem mis-diagnosed as a bad motherboard. This doesn't mean that your problem is the power supply, but it's a good possibility. Also check fans as another poster suggested, as overheating due to bad fan is also a possibility. Also, if you haven't done so recently, opening the case and blowing out dust and cat hair (if you have a cat) with "canned air" is a good idea. enough dirt in processor heat sink fins could cause overheating.
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