Can a virus do this???

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Linux is an alternative operating system (OS), which can be tweaked to one's own satisfaction. Many versions are free; the ones that cost generally are also easier to set up, and sometimes (although not often) have some sort of official support line when you hit a snag.

As a general rule, if you're comfortable digging into the specifics of exactly how your computer works, and/or you really hate Microsoft and Apple, you can certainly install Linux as your computer's operating system. (If you are interested, but not sure you want to switch over completely, you can also install Linux in a certain section of your hard drive - a "partition" - and choose on startup whether you want to use Linux for that particular session, or your old OS.) On the other hand, if you want to just start the thing up and go, you might be more comfortable with one of the versions of Windows, or one of the Apple OSes (the latter only if you own a Mac - I don't think they have a version readily available to run on non-proprietary systems, anyway).

Since aspies, as a population, tend to run a bit high on the geek scale, there are a lot of Linux partisans around here...

thanks for the info but can anyone tell e where I can get a copy in the US so i don't have to use windows ME any more?

If you choose Debian (my personal favourite) then you can look at this page

It contains CD or DVD images which can be burned down. I would recommend a netinstall.

At the same time I must say that there is easier distributions than Debian to install, but once you have it installed it works very good! And upgrading the system is a joy, in my opinion.

I think some people here putting way too much emphasis on software. You still have to rule out a hardware issue. Things like this can be as simple as the plug coming out of the back.

Could also be an old power supply.

Certain worms can cause the computer to enter a continuous cycle of reboots without doing any damage to the actual machine, but your issue sounds more like a hardware problem or overheating. Go to run on the taskbar and type in eventvwr, this will bring up a log, click system and this screen will show you any recent errors on the system marked with a red circle with a white cross in, double click on that to bring up the error report and post it here, this should help us work it out better. Also go around your tower unit and check that all the air inlets and outlets are clear of obstruction and dustbunnies and all the plugs are in fast and no wires are frayed. Do not use a 3 way socket from the wall outlet ether, this can cause major power issues, instead use a plug socket exention with 4 plug spaces.

If your fans are not spinning fast enough or are faulty, this could cause the machine to overheat which causes freezes and if it's the power supply that is overheating this will make the machine turn off. Are you sure the machine shut down or did the monitor just go black because it could be an issue with the monitor or the connecting cable also.