Usually Windows will fail to even boot up with a faulty audio, modem, or network card. If it does boot up, then it shouldn't detect them at all: click on Start-> right click on My Computer-> select Properties-> select Hardware-> then select Device Manager. Check for red X's. Same goes with RAM memory for what I've seen.
The flakiness problem should occur with moving parts- i.e. the HD, the fans, or the Power Supply. They are the ones to faulter with use, leading to freezes. In the case of the HD, you simply will have a crash, so it's down to the fans (specifically the fan on the CPU chip) and the Power Supply.
Last edited by alborg; 03/21/2008 6:06 PM.
