How Often Does Your System Crash/Reboot?

[airdick]

Originally Posted by Jel

Reinstalling XP Pro clears none of this up

My bet is that it's a hardware issue.
Here is how I would attack the problem:

1) First thing to do is make sure you're using the proper settings in the bios for memory timings, clock speed, etc. Some bios menus come with a few default settings that you can choose, try the most conservative bios settings first.

2) If that doesn't solve your problems the next thing I would do is open the box and make sure everything is seated properly and that all the fans work. While you're at it get a flashlight and inspect the capacitors for signs of leakage around the top. There was another thread here recently where someone narrowed down their problems to a bad capacitor.

3) If you have two or more pieces of ram remove one piece at a time and see if the problem can be isolated to single part, or borrow a good stick of ram from a friend and test.

4) If the ram seems okay, start looking at the power - make sure you have a good ground and clean power, if the power is okay then try swapping in a known-good power supply.

5) If you get this far you could try swapping a new cpu, and if you're still screwed go buy a new, shiny mac!