weird problem with computer

[brett1974]

Hi guys I have a compaq presario with a 1.8 gig processor and 1 gig ram and a 250 gig hard drive. The problem I have is when the power went out a couple of months ago my computer was acting weird the graphics and everything basically acted like it could have a virus but i checked all that it came clean and i could not figure it out so i reinstalled the os I have win xp and everything was fine until the power went out again and this time it went out 3 different times within an hour and every time i just turned on my computer in between and there was no storm it was after and now my computer is doing the same thing all over again. right now i'm on my laptop my other computer is a desktop. I've become stumped on this maybe my hard drive has bad sectors i'm not sure. but after this happened i've had to reboot my computer everyday but after i reinstalled the os it was fine it only started to act up again after the power went out and then i had to start to reboot the computer again. i've even updated the graphics driver after the first reinstall. and like i said it worked fine until the power went out again. any ideas oh by the way internet explorer was freezing and crashing alot and the computer and before the power went out i didn't have a problem.

thanks

[patio]

Without puntcuation i can barely decipher your Post.

[brett1974]

sorry about the lack of puntcuation i'm not very good at that. Basically my computer is giving me problems when ever the power goes out and then i have to reinstall windows it's happened twice now in the last 2 months. it was crashing and going slow and the odd thing was internet explorer was the most affected. the first time it happened i did a quick format and reinstalled xp then after the second time which is tonight i did a full format then reinstalled the os. My computer has a gig of ram in it and all the cooling fans are running i verified that lastnight. I did all virus checks and malware and it came out clean. so i'm not sure what's causing it.

[hartbeatmr]

Good evening brett1974 and welcome

If you have re-install windows every time the power goes out do any of the below apply 

#1... Do you leave the PC on pretty much 100% of the time so the only time it is off is during power outage
#2... When you start the pc and while it is running do you hear a winning / clicking noise? especially when you are opening programs
#3... Do you get or have you in past (last few months) get any errors or blue screens of death?

Once again welcome and hope to hear from you soon, Mike   

[brett1974]

Yes I do leave the computer on all the time No the only thing i hear is the fans running so i know the hard drive is fine and no no bsods at all

[soybean]

Yes I do leave the computer on all the time

Well, you have a bad habit.  You should change that.  You should also get a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply, or, in other words, a battery backup) unit and install the software that works with the UPS to monitor your power and automatically and properly shutdown Windows when a power outage occurs.

[hartbeatmr]

Welcome back brett1974

    #1..soybean is correct if leave it on pretty much 24x7 you really should consider getting a UPS that are great for power outages, brownouts and depending on the size of the battery back you can get 10+ min and if the power is not restored with in that time the ups will safely shut the PC down.
    #2..If you are having to install the OS every time the you loose power I would run harddrive software to test the harddrive it may be very possible you have a bad harddrive.
    #3..Even if you don't hear any noise doesn't mean the harddrive is not getting ready to fail.

    Because if you loose power you should be able to start the PC back up. Windows maybe grumpy about not being shut down correctly or maybe some files in the OS may get corrupt but usually there should no reason for the PC to not start back up. For the test tool just let us know what the harddrive manufacture is and we can point you to the website to get the test tools so that can be taken out of the

Please let us know how you make out, Mike         

[brett1974]

I am thinking about getting a ups and I can boot up into windows and everything and use it but it seems like the when the power goes out it corrupts some of the files and then after while like a day or so i have to reboot. where as before i never had to reboot my computer everyday. like right about now i would have to reboot my computer cause of the graphics would be messed up and the computer would be really slow. but back to the graphics it would be a bunch of colored lines on the tab of my browser. Then when i want to restart it the dialog box is like clear and when ie8 froze then end now dialog box would come up but no text would show up. I have a western digital 250 hard drive I think i may have to software for it somewhere.

[patio]

Start by taking the good advice given so far...
Then if the issues continue we'll go from there...