possible overheat

Hello. I was playing a game when a black screen popped up with symbols on the bottom left side. my hard drive also started doing stuff. i waited a bit and since i couldn't get out of it so i just shut off my computer. i thought it might be a videocard problem and turned it back on right away. It first went to the windows startup screen and just went black and it (the hd maybe?) was making weird sounds, so i shut it off again and thought maybe it was overheated (the comp felt pretty warm). Well i opened it up to clean the dust out, then let it rest about 15 mins before trying it again. It started up just fine and i didn't have any problems, but when i checked everest it showed my processor heat up 2 degrees in about 10 seconds (it had already started up and was idle), so i shut it down. Please help me with this someone. I only have 3 cpu fans but it's never overheated before. I've got xp home, amd 2400 and a maxtor something-or-other. Thanks.

 

It is normal for the temp to rise a few degrees when it starts running. If you have cleaned it out, try running with the side off and see if it makes any difference. What are the temps you are getting for the CPU? One other thing. Is the SMART enabled for the harddrive (in the BIOS)? This may tell you of an impending HD problem with the HD when booting. A message will show up when you boot saying SMART enabled, if it is.

 

Ok, i just realized that i only have 1 fan in the back top of my comp . i was including the ones for my power and cpu. Well i'm on my comp again now and i've got the side open, so it's way cooler. Right after i started it up it was 54 degrees (can get to about 57 if i'm gaming for a bit). when i checked it this time it was 33 and it's now stopped at 48, so i think i'm gonna have to get a few fans. I'm no sure if i have smart enabled. I have a slow monitor so i really can't check it when i start up. I think i'll just leave it since i don't know what i'm doing . Thanks guys .