Question : Problem: Computer hangs up red hd light stays on

Unfortunatly their are no labels, This was a barebones Foxconn mb, with 3ghz pentium prescott chip, 1gb mem, cdrw-dvd, 500gb western digital caviar hd,  I purchased this on ebay about three years ago and it has worked well until recently.

The computer came with a 250 gb wd caviar hd.

I have used Linux as my operating system  since I purchased the machine.. freespire 1.13  

The freespire crashed and after considerable attempts to install unbuntu or windows I could not get a operating system to install. I reformated the hd and tested it and then tried to a fresh install. I could not install.  I used puppy with a live cd and it worked ok.

 I decided it needed a new hd.  

I installed a500gb new wd carviar hd.

Then I installed ubuntu. It worked for awhile and then crashed.  I have been using puppy os on this computer for awhile now and it works ok but it hangs up when I use firefox as the browser and has problems with multi tasking.

My thinking is it could be the hd controller, the memory, or the cpu. any ideas?  I will probably just buy another computer and strip this one

Any ideas as to what could be causing the problem?

Answer : Problem: Computer hangs up red hd light stays on

It could also be the PSU. Try another.

Test the RAM using memtest86+. It is often included with Linux installations, but you'll also find it on the UBCD. Also check for overheating. Clean all dust off, remove the heatsink from the CPU, clean it's and the CPU's surface very thoroughly, apply a very small drop of thermal transfer paste, and firmly reattach the heatsink. Also make sure the fans are running smoothly.

http://ultimatebootcd.com