> don't just reinstall windows. Back up any data files you don't already have on disk/tape/CD and format your drive. Now install windows and whatever programs you use. This should fix the problems.

This *might* fix the problem. It worked for me. My computer was about four years old when it started doing these sorts of annoying things. I finally reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled everything from scratch. Since then, it's done pretty well. But I would pay heed to the other posters' answers to your question too. Reformatting and reinstalling everything on your hard drive is a long, tedious, and annoying task, especially if you finish and it doesn't do any good.

Gr"avy spilled on your motherboard could be the problem. Leave it in there long enough and your computer will start to smell like dead f"ish(ny)