Alright. So after recently moving from one place to another and having our stuff shipped, I tried to turn on my good old desktop about a week ago.

There was some issues booting it up at first. Nothing was displaying on the monitor. Eventually though, it started to work like normal.

But then, the moment I tried to boot World of Warcraft, it froze. Already I was beginning to groan, knowing what this likely meant.

Rebooted it, checked CPU levels. Everything seemed normal.

Tried to boot Warcraft again. Actually managed to get into the game this time... for all of two minutes. Then it froze again.

Rebooted. Opened up Firefox to look up the issue when suddenly BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH.

Crying out in anguish, I tried to reboot again. The computer was able to run all those startup diagnostics and what not (you know, the stuff on the black screen with grey text.) But the moment it started to boot up Windows (got to the screen with the windows logo,) it reset.

So then I try to run a Windows Restore from the computer startup menu (it was either that, or try to boot windows again.) A loading bar comes up. Loads fully... but then the computer restarts again.

And no matter what I do, the computer always restarts. I opened up the Desktop, and the processor and other stuff seems to be running fine (albeit, very dusty.)

So my guess is that my Hard Drive got busted during the shipping. If that's the case, I plan to just buy a cheap one with enough space to download all the essentials onto, as well as somehow get a copy of Windows 7 (because I'm not buying [censored] Windows 8.) But I just want to get a second opinion on this, see if there's any other possibilities.

Everything else seems to be running fine, it just can't boot into Windows. This did not happen at all before I had it shipped.

I would first begin to clean all the dust inside my case. !!!

While there is always a little risk of a dust blanket shorting out your hardware, heat is the eternal enemy of your computer and a good cleaning will help keep things cool. !!!

A freeze could be HDD related, but restarts could be a over heating problem, even a non optimal working Power supply. !!!

First I would run a chkdsk. That will give us more information if it is the Hard Drive

Was the desktop a name brand if so likely you can get a copy of the original OS shipped to you. You likely can create the disk but if the Hard drive is starting to go than you might not be able to create one.

Also follow the suggestion that mark gave. Also double check all the connections to make sure they are secure. Sometimes a cable might get slightly loose.

I went through the same problems when I had to store my computer for a few months 2 or 3 hdds died and the video card died... Didn't help that a few power surges hit my house before and the rough handling when moving back home.

Reseat everything and check the cables as suggested

The BSoD should have had an error that would have been helpful to help you figure out what is going on.

That said, it doesn't really sound like a hard drive issue to me. Random screen freezes are usually GPU related. If your motherboard has integrated graphics I suggest unplugging the GPU and running off integrated to see if the problems still occur (for this exact reason I always buy a motherboard that has video-out capabilities).

Random computer restarts usually are the result of faulty hardware or bad drivers.

bad sectors on a hard drive growing shouldn't cause the issues you're describing, and short of getting a click of death, hard drive problems shouldn't effect general system stability.

1. I'll go about doing that later, when I replug the thing.

2. No brand. Bought the parts, assembled it, installed the drivers+Windows 7 through my own CDs.

3. I guess I'll replug everything real quick. Maybe see if I can get a recording of the problem for you guys.

...or the power supply...

Yo hold on! I may have fixed it. Have it running Warcraft right now! If it doesn't freeze in ten minutes, I'll consider the problem solved.

Freezes could be anything: Even from a not proper working HDD, Software or Driver related issue, an OS related issue, Heat related issue, Hardware issue on a matter of conflicts in Device Manager.

Even if the RAM has been used to a maximum extent or the CPU is at 100 percent. Other causes include a badly written driver for an accessory, outdated or inappropriate drivers !!!

Another possibility is that maybe the OP has a virus or malware on his computer that is causing the freezes. !!!

Loose memory modules can be a reason too, too many peripheral devices, windows operating system may be seriously corrupted.

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On the other side, a BSOD, that locks up a computer, can tell you a lot about what's wrong by looking at the numbers. These numbers identifies what's wrong, and you can check online to see what the stop code means.

However, those blue screens are most often caused from bad device drivers, bad hardware devices or software that has been installed.

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If after a fresh OS re-installment or during the installation of a operating system, if the computer turns off abnormally, it is very likely that other hardware is failing in the computer.

Often this is RAM, CPU, Motherboard, or even the Power Supply.