Check your hardware with Linux Mint

One fine day, my computer started acting up.  It would start fine but then abruptly shut down and go into the restart mode.  I wasn't sure what was going on, but it was important for me to determine whether it was a hardware problem or a software issue.  After some research I discovered that there was an easy way to know whether there was a hardware problem or not. And it would not require me to open the case.  All I needed to do was to boot the computer from my DVD drive using Linux Mint operating system.  If the computer operated without a hitch, the hardware problem could be ruled out. So I decided to give it a try. 

I downloaded Linux Mint 16 ISO file from the Internet, and burned it to my DVD.  Linux Mint is an open source operating system developed by a community of developers and is distributed free of charge.  Next, I set my BIOS to boot from the DVD drive, shut down the computer, inserted the Linux Mint DVD and restarted the computer.  Within minutes, Linux operating system started and loaded all necessary drivers without a hitch.  The computer was working fine and I was able to go to the Internet as well.  It was magical.  I was able to see my hard drive and all folders and files intact.  The conclusion was that there were no hardware issues and the only thing I needed to worry about was the software issues, possibly related to the Windows operating system. 

One word of caution, if you try this, be careful when you download Linux Mint from the Internet.  You may attract some worms and virus infections along with it.  I would be happy to burn an ISO DVD and send it to anyone who requests by sending me an email at pcselfservice@yahoo.com.  I may even send you a step-by-step guide on how to do this.