computer question

[gyrene81]

Probably have a "hidden restore partition" on the hard drive.

[OOZ662]

and she seems hooked on those stupid flash type games....you know....like the ones at popcap? she says she's never clicked a link or anything, but we'll see.

That could very well be your problem. If she's using Internet Explorer, I'd almost wager on it. Those sites are filled with ActiveX plugins, hidden IFRAMEs, and all sorts of other nonsense that will drop anything it feels like onto your computer. That's why so many of us love FireFox; no ActiveX and the NoScript plugin will thwart everything else, though it does require some setup.

[Bradman]

Sounds like either your PS is going bad or more likely your CPU is overheating.

Edit: Just re-read where the system re-boots constantly if not in safemode. I would wipe the drive and re-install XP. I would suggest checking your PS and CPU fan/heatsink since either of these two could have been the cause for the original re-booting issues which could have corrupted your registry. I would also install firefox and have your mother-in-law use it instead of IE.