System occasionally freezes and will not restart though power is present

System occasionally freezes and will not restart though power is present I use my desktop PC mostly for watching TV, downloading stuff and sometimes playing big games. Recently, I've been having some weird problems which I am unable to attribute to a particular component. Sometimes, irrespective of what I am doing, the monitor just switches off/goes blank and the system becomes dead!
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Guest [Entry]

"First you should check if there is a software condition that triggers the freeze. You can check if it only occurs running some kind of applications. For example, tv applications crashes may indicate a faulty tv tuner or video card, and crashes playing games that make intensive use of graphics may indicate a faulty video card.

There are many possible hardware causes: power supply unit, video card, tv tuner, system RAM, temperature issues (overheating), etc.

To check for hardware problems, you can start by disconnecting components one at a time and test your system. When you reconnect those components, they should be working again automatically.

To check for a faulty video card, you can try connecting the onboard video integrated on you motherboard (if it's available) or connecting a replacement card.

System RAM can be checked running Memtest from a live CD (you can use SystemRescueCd)

To check the PSU you can replace it or look for incorrect voltages and temperatures through BIOS setup.

Some causes of overheating are failing fans and dust blocking air flow."