"Reinstall windows"

[MecaKane]

I DID.
And my computer keeps on locking up when I'm playing direct x games, and not like open gl games like half-life or quake, and also at other inconsistent random times. But with games it's pretty much like clockwork after about 30 minutes in.
And also every time I was trying to install windows using the CD that came with the computer it froze, so I had to get a pirate one but that's another story.

So yeah, what can I do?!

[o_O]

Is it only when playing DirectX games?

It sounds like it's a driver problem if it is. Try upgrading your graphics card drivers to the latest available.

It could also be your graphics card or processor overheating, if it spontaneously locks up or restarts automatically. Try installing temperature monitoring software and keeping an eye on the temperature.

[MecaKane]

Well it's most consistent with directx games, nothing even that resource heavy, like zsnes, starcraft, and defcon, half-life when I ran it in d3d it didn't happen in open-gl mode. The few other times could've been coincidences, or when stuff actually does start to get too heavy.

My video card drivers have been updated through a few different versions, and direct x has done this with the version that comes with xp and 9.0c or whatever.