Well, I have been having a problem with my computer since a few days back, and my friend suggester this forum and if you guys can help me out, then I'd be really grateful...

Now there was a power cut in my vicinity recently and since my backup battery was off, my computer shut down (not the normal windows shutdown but an abrupt one due to lack of power).. when power cam back on, and I switched on my compuetr, I noticed that it was restarting very frequently and very abruptly.. Every 10 minutes, my monitor will go black and the computer would restart... I formatted and reinstalled my OS which was WinXP but it was of no avail... My computer still restarts very abruptly now and then... Another thing is that if I am running any software, like Firefox, Opera, yahoo messenger, man messenger, it will abruptly give me that windows error message (the one with the options "Send error report" and "don't send" at the bottom) and then the software will close.. The main problem is my memory. though.. I have a 512 MB ddr Ram chip... But when I press "Delete" whil booting to enter the BIOS setup, it shows the memory as 256 MB.. When I right click "My computer" and go to properties, there too it shows memory as 256 MB... this leads me to believe that my memory chip is screwed, but I am not sure, and that's the reason I am posting here asking for help!! Thanks in advance!!

have you tried the memory in a different slot.also try the memory in a different pc....run memtest.
also try resetting your bios.
post back after trying these and let us know.

Hi Kaku....

First and important, do you have a surge protector between the computer and the wall socket?

i changed memory slots, but it was of no avail.. I will reset the bios later nad check.. I ran memtest and it gave me around 2-3 errors per pass.. And yes, my computer does have surge protection...

Anyways, does the error in the memtest mean that the memory chip is screwed??

I would say probably. Hopefully, the motherboard is ok. Buy new memory somewhere that accepts returns. If the new mem works, you are set. If not, you can get your money back.

Your memory is screwed. Many brands of memory have lifetime guarantees, most have at least one year, and a few have at least 30 days. I suggest exchanging the memory if you can and see what happens. In addition, I would get a new surge protector-most likely it allowed a spike to slide through it. I have two in-line on my computers.

Thanks for the help, guys!! REally appreciate this!!

I agree ... sounds like bad ram