On rare occasions, DVD drives just aren’t compatible with certain computers. This may be remedied by a firmware or bios update for your motherboard, available from the motherboard makers site.

It could also be a dodgy power supply or corrupted operating system or boot procedure so maybe try reinstalling your system.

Try this article however:

http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cd-dvd-drives/code-19-vista-home-basic-167169-2.html

I”d say this might be either a battery/power supply or resource issue – eg, not enough RAM or CPU power to perform the tasks you want. Try to leave the laptop plugged in if you don’t already (take out battery maybe).

It could also be the CPU overheating due to dust, blocked air vents or faulty/broken cooling fans.

My first instinct is that you need more RAM or CPU power. Games usually require a lot of system resources so strange freezing could easily happen in an under powered system. Also check that keys are not sticking and check the pins on the connectors to see if any are broken or bent.

Try also to test the keyboard and mouse on another system and see if a USB mouse and keyboard will work with your PC and games if you can borrow them.

This looks like a classic case of CPU overheating or faulty RAM modules and is most likely hardware related since a format didn’t solve the problem.

You could also try removing some components and restarting or upgrading RAM.

The answer to this is fairly simple. A Windows XP installation will never include all the necessary device drivers for your system. You’ll need to visit the PC or motherboard manufacturers website and download the relevant drivers or firmware to get everything working.

If you have added any extra devices that didn’t initially come with the PC and they are not working then you’ll need to visit their websites too or use any driver disks that came with these devices.

The first thing I would have said would be to contact the ISP but Carol has already done this and they said it might be a corrupted internet explorer so presuming they know what they’re talking about the best course of action might be to download and install a fresh copy of internet explorer. To do that go here:

www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Or better yet, try the FREE Firefox browser!:

www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Might be worth doing virus and spyware scans too to rule that out.

The most likey cause of this is that some newly installed software has modified the mouse settings so check the settings in anything recently installed as well as in any mouse software (ie – installation software that came with your mouse). Also check Control Panel – Mouse and make sure everything is as you want it to be here.

You could also try updating to the latest drivers for your mouse as well as trying it in another pc to see if its a software or hardware fault.

There’s a range of possible problems here. The power supply could be faulty and need replacing so try a different one or try that one in another pc if possible. It could also be the motherboard gone bust in which case its a big job to fix or replace.

Possible the easiest solution and the one you should start with is to open up the pc and check for dust, loose connections and shorts caused by loose screws etc..

Finally, check the power button connections in case its simply a switch problem.

Have you checked in the device manager to see if the keyboard is listed? Right-click on My Computer and select Properties, then click on the Hardware tab and click on the Device Manager button. In the list that pops up find the keyboard and double-click on it. A window will pop up with information on the keyboard – check this for errors. It might be worth going to the manufacturers site and downloading the drivers. I’ve also heard of a fresh Windows install curing this problem.

That’s all that I can think of – let me know how you get on.

Like most PC problems there could be a gazillion reasons for this, but the most obvious is a graphic card problem, possibly overheating. Open the case on your PC and clear out all of the dust from the inside. Check the fan on the graphics card (if it has one) – the graphics card is what the monitor plugs into – and clean it if necessary. Do the same for the fan on the motherboard and make sure that all vents on the case are clear. Run the machine with the case open to check that the fans are turning. Newer graphics cards have software that allow you to monitor the temperature of the card, so this might be worth looking at.

Download and install the latest drivers for your card – use drivercleaner to uninstall the existing drivers should you decide to reinstall.

It is possible to change the settings for shutdown temperature in the Bios, but this is not recommended.

Also make sure there’s no short circuiting going on or loose stuff flying around inside the PC.

This problem could also be related to faulty RAM so if you can swap this out or remove the sticks in rotation if you have more than one.

If you’re comfortable in the BIOS, try to set all settings back to default.