Seeing as we have a brand new category, here's some hints....

Computer won't start up - seems dead

Motherboard has shorted itself temporarily or power supply has shut down, blown a fuse or fried.

I find that most of these issues are due to a fluctuation in power, usually occurs some time over the weekend.

Resolution: firstly pull out power cord from power supply and let stand for 5 minutes. reconnect power cord and try booting.

6 times out of 10 this will be enough to reset the circuits and the computer will boot.

If system still won't start, pull out the power cord, take the side panel off and look for a round lithium battery on the main board. It is usually held in place by a spring clip. Take out this battery and leave for 5 minutes.

Now, put battery back in, put side cover back on, plug power cord back in and try booting.

Usually the computer will boot, if not replace power supply.

Computer reboots over and over randomly

Faulty power supply possibly, but usually faulty processor fan - overheating.

Open side cover, unplug power, unscrew fan and clean dust from big aluminium heatsink, replace fan and boot up looking to see that fan is spinning freely.
Leave side cover off for one day, if computer does not reboot randomly anymore, put cover on next day. If it starts rebooting, maybe the heatsink paste has dried out between the heatsink and processor.

Best free antivirus

Avast Home Edition

Best free antispyware

Spybot Search and Destroy
A-Squared Free
SuperAntiSpyware

Clue: To find out what's wrong download the unregistered version of noadware, update it and run a scan, it will tell you if you have a problem.
Cookies are no real threat.

Clue: Apart from slow internet, best clue is to look at the activity light on your modem, if it's flashing madly non-stop and you are not doing anything AND nobody else is using it in your house, you probably have Spyware.

WARNING! - computer parts are sensistive to static electricity. Do not put your hands on any computer internal parts without touching the case first. As I rule, I remove my shoes and touch the case while working on a computer. I have seen memory modules and computer boards rendered useless by static electricity

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