after Fatal error, reboots but stalls and shuts down.

Dell Dimension E510 desktop. Win XP Media Center.

I dont know if I have malware, or software/hardware issues.

I got a Fatal Error message blue screen. Now every time I boot up, after a minute or two, the PC stalls and I get the Blue Screen "Detected an error and is shutting down." Tried a "restore" in safe mode but PC still stalled and got the bsod. Cant access USB ports.

I managed to download Rkill to see if I could run the diagnostics for Malware. I dont think it found anything unusual BUT the PC ran for about 30 minutes. I was hoping this meant rKill was stopping malware, but then I got the "Fatal Error" blue screen like the first time (which is different from the repeated "Detected an error and shut down" blue screen). Running rkill on later attempts doesnt always help. Any ideas?

I set up the minidumps output for a crash, but nothing gets generated.

Here's an excerpt of an Events Log, which I'm told indicates hardware errors:

Type    Date    Time    Source    Category    Event    User    Computer
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:57 AM    W32Time    None    35    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:54 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:53 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:48 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:46 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:46 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:46 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    Dave    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    10:00:45 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7026    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    10:00:10 AM    disk    None    7    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:24 AM    Save Dump    None    1001    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:23 AM    eventlog    None    6005    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    10:00:23 AM    eventlog    None    6009    N/A    DGL5F091
Warning    11/9/2013    9:52:12 AM    disk    None    51    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:52:12 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:50:10 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:50:05 AM    W32Time    None    35    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:50:02 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:59 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:57 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:57 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:56 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:56 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:55 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:55 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:55 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:55 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:54 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:54 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    Dave    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:54 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:49:54 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7026    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:49:17 AM    disk    None    7    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:31 AM    Save Dump    None    1001    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:30 AM    eventlog    None    6005    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:49:30 AM    eventlog    None    6009    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:54 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Warning    11/9/2013    9:46:44 AM    disk    None    51    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:44 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:33 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Warning    11/9/2013    9:46:23 AM    disk    None    51    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:23 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:12 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Warning    11/9/2013    9:46:02 AM    disk    None    51    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:46:02 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:45:51 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Warning    11/9/2013    9:45:41 AM    disk    None    51    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:45:41 AM    atapi    None    9    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:38 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:38 AM    W32Time    None    35    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:34 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:28 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:28 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:28 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:28 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    SYSTEM    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    Dave    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:44:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7026    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:43:52 AM    disk    None    7    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:03 AM    eventlog    None    6005    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:44:03 AM    eventlog    None    6009    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:42:38 AM    disk    None    7    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:41:41 AM    W32Time    None    35    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:40:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7036    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:40:27 AM    Service Control Manager    None    7035    Dave    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:40:05 AM    Microsoft Antimalware    None    2001    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:40:05 AM    Microsoft Antimalware    None    2001    N/A    DGL5F091
Information    11/9/2013    9:36:39 AM    Microsoft Antimalware    None    1013    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:26:55 AM    W32Time    None    29    N/A    DGL5F091
Error    11/9/2013    9:26:55 AM    W32Time    None    17    N/A    DGL5F091

Can you get and run WhoCrashed, then post those results back here, and also do you have an Nvidia graphic's card ?

I've read the Video card is suppose to be listed under "Display Adapters" in Device Manager. I see two entries for Radeon X300 SE 128 MM Hypermemory. Is that really it?

Here's the Whocrashed from the html-format results:

computer name: DGL5F091
windows version: Windows XP Service Pack 3, 5.1, build: 2600
windows dir: C:\WINDOWS
Hardware: Dell DM051 , Dell Inc. , Dell Inc. , 0KF623
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz Intel586, level: 15
2 logical processors, active mask: 3
RAM: 534851584 total
VM: 2147352576, free: 2039349248


 

Crash Dump Analysis

Crash dump directory: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump

Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

On Sat 11/9/2013 5:26:55 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini111513-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x22FA3)
Bugcheck code: 0xC000021A (0xFFFFFFFFE3480388, 0xFFFFFFFFC0000006, 0x75B7D45B, 0xC8FC08)
Error: STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This means that an error has occurred in a crucial user-mode subsystem.
There is a possibility this problem was caused by a virus or other malware.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 11/9/2013 3:29:30 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini110913-04.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x22FA3)
Bugcheck code: 0xF4 (0x3, 0xFFFFFFFF825F5288, 0xFFFFFFFF825F53FC, 0xFFFFFFFF805D22DA)
Error: CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 11/9/2013 3:19:09 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini110913-03.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x22FA3)
Bugcheck code: 0xF4 (0x3, 0xFFFFFFFF827DE020, 0xFFFFFFFF827DE194, 0xFFFFFFFF805D22DA)
Error: CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 11/9/2013 2:53:41 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini110913-02.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x22FA3)
Bugcheck code: 0xF4 (0x3, 0xFFFFFFFF8277E308, 0xFFFFFFFF8277E47C, 0xFFFFFFFF805D22DA)
Error: CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 11/9/2013 2:47:05 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini110913-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x22FA3)
Bugcheck code: 0xF4 (0x3, 0xFFFFFFFF8260F598, 0xFFFFFFFF8260F70C, 0xFFFFFFFF805D22DA)
Error: CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.

Conclusion

5 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. No offending third party drivers have been found. Consider using WhoCrashed Professional which offers more detailed analysis using symbol resolution. Also configuring your system to produce a full memory dump may help you.

Right, the video card report is very probably correct, but I needed to be sure about Nvidia, I don't suppose you have ANY Nvidia software on your PC do you ?

I have seen systems without an Nvidia card, but still containing Nvidia software, PhysX and GeForce Experience I think are what I found on that system, once I uninstalled those their system began working without issue, but there are many issues with their software\drivers of late, many people are suffering from that.

Now there are 2 main issues I am seeing, but as I am unsure about what may affect one of those issues, I will concentrate on only one of them at this time, so can you get and run Speedfan, and take a screenshot of that and post it back here, it will help to get an idea about this, also if you could boot into your BIOS, and look for a System Health or similar kind of thing, ultimately I am after finding out what the temperature is being reported at, as the reports suggest heat could be a factor, once we can find out about this, I can send you over to the specialists for a check up, as one report suggests it could be an infection, hence my not wanting to change anything (uninstalling) at this stage, just incase it makes their job harder, once you get the all clear we can check some other things, but if heat is a factor as well, we can deal with that to get the system more stable for the pro's to check it out.

I rebooted with speedfan on a thumbdrive (the usb port is not recognized now unless there's something in it).

Am I suppose to run a test? The only info displayed is "HDO: 37C" in upper right window section.

I can get into BIOS but there's no "System Health." When I go thru the list and expand, they're mostly settings, except for the Event Log under "Maintenance."

No special trick to it, simply launch the program, then take a screen shot and post that back here, there is no need to touch any settings, it simply reads what is required as soon as it is launched, once we see that we can get a better idea about the heat that's being reported\suggested by the other program.

As to the BIOS just leave that for the time being, it may be it does not have that feature, not all boards do.

The only info displayed is "HDO: 37C" in upper right window section.

Dam, I did see what you said, but I was hoping you maybe had a tab open that has less info on it (been a while since I used it), you could try looking at the other tabs and find one that is pretty much a blank page, with a Show the Magic button on it, click that and see if it finds more, but I seriously doubt it, my guess is the system is too old to have the sensors it needs to read these things.

How long is it since you last cleaned the system from dust etc. ?

And how long is it since the CPU had fresh Thermal paste on it ?

If it's been a long time, it would not hurt to clean it out and reseat the CPU, more so if this happens more under heavy load than just normal use, at the least it removes heat as being an issue (assuming there is already good airflow), and it means the system will be a lot more stable, and whatever you do clean off the old thermal paste from the CPU and heatsink, otherwise it will contaminate the fresh paste, you can buy a 2 bottle pack that contains a cleaning solution, and a purifier, these will make it so much easier to do, and will make it much easier to follow the Pro's advice through a Malware check up.

Also link them to this thread, as the read out above "may" give them a clue, but given they will want you to run scans, the last thing you need is the system crashing part way through because it got to hot, then once they give you the all clear, you can come back here and follow up with any issues there may still be once they have finished, just don't do anything else without their instruction, especially uninstalling or running other scans, as it can make their job much harder if the goal posts keep moving, hope this helps a bit at least.

I havent cleaned the interior at all, except for removing some stringy clumps of dust a few months ago - I forget why I opened the tower.  I dont know anything about thermal paste, so I guess I'll have to check it out.

I was able to run the initial scans to post in the Infections forum. But it stalled when I tried a scan which the Malware advisor asked me to do.

That tends to support my suspicion about the heat, as soon as the PC has to work, heat rises quickly, and the shut downs are automatic (usually), blue screens are when it just can't complete what it needs to, and you will not be able to run the scans asked by the Pro's until you get this heat sorted, because if I'm right each time you try, it will fail, because it is protecting the hardware from permanent damage, and the longer it's left, the greater the risk of parts dying.

Not sure how comfortable you are working inside a PC, if you feel it's something you would rather not do, then you need to get someone who is able to do it, technically speaking there's not much to it, but if you have never done it you can feel overwhelmed, but it's physical ability and small work space area that you face, dependent on how the heatsink is fixed it may be easier to remove the motherboard from the case, but I strongly suggest taking pictures\notes of ALL the connections before starting if you do this, especially the array of thin wires going to a set of multiple pins often near the bottom front part of the board, note the colour wires, and the pins they connect to, this is essential or the system will fail to boot, and it could damage the board if you connect to the wrong pins.

Here is a load of files that give clear instructions on the preparation's and procedure for dealing with this task, going from the model you gave above, your system appears to have a Pentium® 4 Processor, so scroll down the page until you reach the Intel® Pentium® Processor Family section, then select Pentium® 4 Processor (Legacy) from the list, and follow it over to it's download, it's a PDF file giving the full procedure of the thermal paste renewal, please take a careful look through it all, look at your system, and make sure you are fully set before you start, any questions please ask before you start, more so if this is your only connection to the net to get help, then we can help with anything else you need to know so your as ready as you can be for doing this.

Before you begin you will need the materials, the cleaner I linked above is a god send, it makes it so easy to clean it up ready, I also recommend using Arctic Silver 5, it's got a great rep and works well, and some lint free cloth to use to wipe the areas.

Cleaning the system requires care, and the first thing you need to do before going inside the case, is unplug the mains lead completely from the wall, I also switch the PSU switch to off as well if possible (not all PSU's have one), the best way to work is with the case on it's side, remove the side to gain access, touch the sides of the case BEFORE touching anything inside, static electricity can kill component's, and touch it every so often as well, more so if you have moved, it only talks a few steps to get enough static to cause damage.

Then people have their favourite ways of doing this, many use compressed air, if you go this route I strongly suggest doing it outside, or you will have a dust storm on your hands, and stand upwind of it when doing this, or you will get a face full of dust, personal I prefer an old paint brush, and a hoover, but both have the potential to cause problems, if you go in to close then you could blow off or suck up jumper pegs an the like, so start further out, and gently work your way in until you get the balance of getting a result, without causing damage, outside you may not see anything coming off.

My trick with a hoover is to use a pair of old tights and stretch them over the hoover hose, it will stop any parts from disappearing into the hoover bag, but you may need to hoover off larger bits of dust from the tights to let smaller stuff through, but this is why a few pictures are a good idea, as they can help find where things come from if you are unlucky enough to have something come loose, hope this gets you started at least.

I'll give it a shot tomorrow, if I can find the products, or something similar. Then I'll open it up to figure out where the heat sink is.

So I'm cleaning out the dust, and cleaning/applying thermal paste to the heat sink. Anything else? Someone else told me to swap the RAM sticks (assuming I have more than one?). If I can figure out where they are, should I do that?

And thank you very much for the specific suggestions.

NP, we've all been there, and know how overwhelming it can be, but it's one of those things you look back after and wonder what the problem was more often than not, but the heatsink is easy to find, it's the big lump with a fan on it lol, but one thing I've just thought of, pop the side with the mains on, BUT, do NOT touch anything, or leave it unguarded, more so if animals\kids are around, but take notice of the fan, look at it and look at any other fans you can see, it will be a gut feeling more often than not, but if that fan is running slower\weaker than the others, that may well need replacing, it can certainly cause the same issue, but with no temperature sensors you will not be sure how much affect that has on it, and given the age it certainly wont hurt to reseat it, but if you want to take a picture of it we can say how to remove it.

The ram are long rectangular sticks, with chips down their side, and are usually up near the heatsink, the reason for swapping sticks around is to see if 1 stick is faulty, because a bad stick can certainly mess you about, but there are numerous points that have to be covered if you intend to try this, and it costs nothing to try, but from the results of the software I asked for above, and the system crashing under load, I still think heat is a major factor in this, but if you want to give this a go, let me know and I will cover several points you need to be aware of, hope this helps a bit anyway.

I went to Radioshack for the fluids, but changed my mind when they said the heat sink was the thing with the several layers. I didnt realize it would take a couple hours to clean and repaste.
I brought along the (clock?) battery for them to test. They thought the battery was low but acceptable.
When I put it back, I got a black window about needing to configure the PC, and warnings about two previous messages (which I dont recall getting) about: Fan Failure! and Low Battery!

I could hear a faint whirr like the fan running. Would the battery be the issue?

Having rebooted many times, I'm concerned that I've potentially damaged the harddrive, and am now thinking of getting a IDE-to-USB cable to transfer data I want to keep, as I didnt make backups earlier. I assume I can run the power from the old PC without rebooting? 

Sorry but unless there is something I don't know about, they are talking about worst case and completely stripping and rebuilding the entire system, it would take me maybe 15 minutes if the heatsink came off easily, and I'm betting yours just has a lever to hold it down, so you should be able to do it insitu, newer systems have push and turn style fixings, these are a nightmare for me, as I don't have the health\power to do it easily.

So the biggest factor would be just how hard it was to get the heatsink off, obviously for someone doing it for the first time they would be slower, not knowing or wanting to cause damage, and getting it back on again, but the cleaning should only take 10 minutes approx., and under 5 minutes to apply the fresh, depending which method you follow, but that's the max I would imagine.

Now the battery, that is for the CMOS, it helps retain the BIOS settings and other stuff like the clock\time, when you remove this it causes the PC to lose all of that, and when you put it back in you MUST rest at a minimum the time and date, you can get no end of problems if you don't, but boot order is another thing that you may want to reset, for a faster boot by telling it to look for the hard drive 1st, then the optical drive, but this is why you saw these warnings etc., because the BIOS was reset.

I would be amazed if there was anything wrong with the hard drive, it has nothing to do with anything you have done, a power surge is the greatest threat to a hard drive, and the obvious it wont run forever statement, but if you have stuff on it you can't afford to lose then you need to seriously get a back up regime in place, because it often too late after something goes wrong.

Now the fan warning, that is good news, if you recall above I covered that as a possible, and if we are lucky it will be as simple as that to cure the heat, so take that fan out (using proper safety precautions with power), double check the battery, it should be a 2032 cell battery, it should be etched on top of it, and replace both of those, online they should be really cheap, shops will be a bit dearer, and some places may be much more expensive, a mate got a VGA cable from a local store, she paid £20 for it, told her take it back and get it online, it was only £3, so be aware of your prices before going.

But my hope now is with a new fan and battery you will have a stable system again, and can then get your scans done, without the need to mess about anymore, so get those fitted, set the BIOS again and you should be good to go, hope that gets you sorted.

how about if I replace the battery and put a table fan aimed into the PC? That way, if it crashes again in the usual 2 minutes (or 20 minutes if I dont actually use it), I'll know it's not the fan, or at least has gone beyond the fan as being the sole issue?

I'm attaching a pic of the heatsink. I thought I was going to need to disassemble the layers, then clean and repaste, which looks like it would take more than 10 minutes.