Here's a doozy....(maybe)....

It's possible that I'd be better off posting this is some tech forum somewhere, but since you guys are cooler, I'll start here.
 
I'm having me some serious PC problems. My PC almost always hangs on the Windows Logo. The motherboard will POST, then everything locks up right when the Windows logo starts animating. (I'm current on Windows 7 64-bit).  I've tried various things, such as unplugging all USB devices, disconnecting from the KVM I have connected to another PC, etc. but the only thing that seems to work "fairly" regularly is clearing the CMOS on the board.
 
On those occasions when Windows does load, everything seems to be okay, right up until it isn't.  Everything locks up - including all keyboard/mouse control so there's no option for the three-finger-salute - so at that point the only option is to force a restart, whereby it'll inevitably lock up again at the logo.
 
Just in case there was a corrupted Windows file or something, I attempt to restore the system drive from a previous image (made a couple months ago when everything was rock solid). Alas, it did nothing. Same hang at startup.
 
So, it's most likely a hardware issue. Here's a fun fact: when the board POSTs, I go into the BIOS and take a look around. It says that my CPU is running at 228C.  Of course, the thing would be fried by that point and would most likely shut itself down if it got too hot (I currently have a Core i7 2600K).
 
I recently had two failed attempts at updating my video card driver (GeForce GTX 570), whereby everything locked up in the middle of the installation process. So maybe my GPU is shot.
 
Maybe one or more sticks of RAM are shot.
 
A few months ago, I kept losing connection to a few of my hard drives, then I simply unplugged their power cables and used different ones from the PSU. No problems since.
 
My first order of business is going to be purchasing a new PSU. Because hell, if my PSU is shot, and various components are getting enough juice, then that would explain my hardware failures, right?
 
Yeah, so, assuming a new PSU doesn't do the trick (I'm a pessimist), I'm probably looking at redoing everything. New GPUs use newer PCI-E slots. If my board is screwed up, I'm gonna have to replace everything anyway. Which of course means a fresh install of Windows since my current system drive will no longer work.
 
Has anyone run into anything like this? Any suggestions on things to try out before I drop $1500 on new hardware & OS?

Nope, fan is still running. And I really doubt the CPU can actually be that hot. Wouldn't it melt/start a fire if it were really 228C? That's like 440 degrees Fahrenheit.  I believe, although not positive, that i7 CPUs will shut down if they get to 100C or something.

I'm going to bet my money on GPU failure.
 
Re the PSU, mine is 400W, but I would suggest a larger one. What's more important than actual wattage rating is design margin. I always used a 50% design margin when I was designing hardware, but then again, my controllers were going into oil field operations and failures weren't an option (for me, at least; I never blew up anything, not a pump station, not a well, not a gas platform; nothing). So I would recommend looking into the PSU manufacturers and their reputations before buying a replacement. I've had to replace the PSU on each of my last to PCs (a Sony VIAO and my current Dell XPS). Both were under warranty, so were replaced by the manufacturer with an OEM part. I did not have to do any research, sorry, so I have nothing to share on that subject.

Your old machine was Kicking compared to mine! lol
 

streckfus
Yeah, was. You want it? I'll sell it real cheap. :)

I think I'll pass on that one...Thanks though

streckfus
You sure? I'll even throw in a 10-year-old motherboard, free of charge. It would look great on your coffee table...

I'll have to pass...sorry.  My room is already full of old desktops and motherboards.  I still have an few old single cores running Windows XP (They do still work!)

I was leaning towards the gfx card as the culprit initially, but after reading through the thread I'd say it's a memory (RAM) issue.

streckfus
In any case, I ended up buying all new components and a new OS, and everything is peachy now.

Yeah, new stuff always wins!