Comp keeps shutting down...

Hello all, I'm posting this seeking assistance from anyone & everyone, due to the gravity of the issue at hand. It is my cousin's computer, and he is currently in Kuwait until May 2006, and his computer is his primary means of communicating with his wife & 3 young children, via IM & video messaging...

Ok, here goes...
He has a Dell Dimension (8000 I think) running XP...unfortunately, no spy/adware programs OR a firewall, he thought Norton was a do-all program (poor sap)...I tried to install a Creative Labs WebCam Pro! so his wife could video message him, etc. etc...the comp automatically shutdown mid-install, and started right back up again...it keeps running DiskCheck at the beginning of booting up, and then as soon as it reaches the desktop, it shuts down again, carrying on this vicious cycle of restarts...If I can't keep the desktop on long enough to run any programs, etc., what can I do? I'm fairly educated in this stuff, when I'm pointed in the right direction...I seek your help, so I can get my cousin's wife & their children back to talking to their dad/husband on a daily basis...

Thank you all in advance,
Meliaant

 

Can you boot in safe mode?

Safe Mode /w Networking and then do some AV scans etc. There is a great thread on this in Spyware Specific.READ ME FIRST

 

Thanks, did that & it worked...kind of...I ran all kinds of spyware/adware/AV scans, and cleaned up the comp a little, but found the real issue while messing around...on the comp are four (4) USB 1.0 ports...plugged into the computer are four (4) USB 2.0 products (HP DeskJet printer, Kodak Camera dock, wireless keyboard, and the aforementioned Creative WebCam Pro Live!)...no matter what configuration I have them sorted in, as soon as I plug in the webcam, the computer shuts down & starts the restart cycle...any information would help a ton!
thanks!
anthony

 

That's a power issue. Either your power supply isn't up to the task, i.e not powerful enough; or your PSU is going bad.

 

Does the computer shut down if only the webcam is plugged in?

 

Yes, only when the webcam is plugged in, yet all the other objects are no longer recognized, such as the HP desktop printer thats been installed for the last 2 years...whats a PSU and how does one fix it, lol?

 

A PSU is a Power Supply Unit... to repair one takes a fair amount of electrical knowledge and training...in most cases, it's more prudent to simply replace.

However, you can test your power supply, if you had a multimeter. To do so, turn the computer on, with the case open. Set the multimeter to the volt meter setting (range of 20V typically)....insert the black lead of the multimeter into a black wire of a power lead, and the red multimeter lead into a yellow and red.
Assuming your PC is ATX (it will usually says on the bottom of the PSU), the yellow lead should provide a stable 12V and the red lead should provide 5V..within a small tolerance (about +/- 1.8V)

Buuuut again, a replacement is probably the most sensible solution. I would recommend www.newegg.com and/or www.canadacomputers.com... the more wattage, the more devices you can connect.