Things Fall Apart
Recently, my computer has been freezing up a lot while playing videogames, leaving me with no option but to turn off the power. Then, last night, while I was just doing normal surfing, it happened again. Specifically, the mouse cursor disappeared, and the computer wouldn't respond to the keyboard, even though the red light that indicates heavy activity wasn't on. So I powered it down, and then turned it on again, and it froze in the process of booting it up.
This is bad.
I got it to turn on normally this morning, but obviously, that doesn't mean the problem is solved, and in fact, I suspect it's going to get worse (As it is, I can't play videogames right now, and that's bad enough). I would assume that it's overheating, except that the computer has sat in the same place for over three years and worked just fine, it hadn't been on for very long, and I wasn't doing anything that would have caused it to really heat up. I had even opened it up and cleaned the dust out before this happened last night.
So I need some advice.
Do I:
1) Take it someplace to have it fixed? I don't actually know where I would go, or how much this would cost, so if you have suggestions, that'd be great. The computer was put together out of components by a store, so it's not a brand name, and even if it was, I've had it for so long that it wouldn't be covered under any warranty anyway.
2) Bite the bullet and get a new computer. I can't really afford this, except that, due to the way I get paid, I'll essentially be getting an extra paycheck next month. I was going to use that money to get rid of the debt on my credit cards - or at least get rid of most of it. I could use this for a new computer instead. I don't actually want to take this option, but I don't know expensive/worthwhile it is to try and get the computer fixed.
This is bad.
I got it to turn on normally this morning, but obviously, that doesn't mean the problem is solved, and in fact, I suspect it's going to get worse (As it is, I can't play videogames right now, and that's bad enough). I would assume that it's overheating, except that the computer has sat in the same place for over three years and worked just fine, it hadn't been on for very long, and I wasn't doing anything that would have caused it to really heat up. I had even opened it up and cleaned the dust out before this happened last night.
So I need some advice.
Do I:
1) Take it someplace to have it fixed? I don't actually know where I would go, or how much this would cost, so if you have suggestions, that'd be great. The computer was put together out of components by a store, so it's not a brand name, and even if it was, I've had it for so long that it wouldn't be covered under any warranty anyway.
2) Bite the bullet and get a new computer. I can't really afford this, except that, due to the way I get paid, I'll essentially be getting an extra paycheck next month. I was going to use that money to get rid of the debt on my credit cards - or at least get rid of most of it. I could use this for a new computer instead. I don't actually want to take this option, but I don't know expensive/worthwhile it is to try and get the computer fixed.