The Mother Board

[Karlsweldt]

Certain features of the BIOS are in ROM (read-only memory) form. When power is lost to the CMOS memory bank, the BIOS reverts to a default mode. Try pulling the mains power from the system, and remove the battery. Leave the system idle for maybe 4 hours, then put the battery in and restore power. A known fact that minute power glitches can cause electronic devices to have corrupt settings! Given a few minutes with no power, they usually reset to normal. But a computer's basic memory may need several hours to reset to default.
You might try starting with no keyboard connected, so the first splash screen stays viewable. In the bottom left corner is a string of characters. That is the BIOS ID, a positive listing of the type, version and date of inception. Post that info here, and that may be a clue as to a possible infection.
Swapping a power supply is simple.. as long as you ensure any motherboard sockets have the PSU plug to match. And if the video card has a power socket, ensure that it is mated to a PSU lead set! Of course, the power supply should be of the same or higher wattage than the original. A PSU of lesser wattage may not be viable.
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F@H.. to solve mankind's maladies.. in our lifetimes!

[gate4exec]

I swapped hard drives and things started to get interesting. I put my neighbors hard drive in my machine and began to boot. BUT, I got some weird message "enable windows activation" or something along those lines. I found a workaround by hitting "start" and the letter "U". Then I was able to launch a browser where I entered the following: c:\windows\explorer.exe This allowed me to access various folders (including the desktop folder) where I began to run Ccleaner, Malwarebytes and Avast. Malwarebytes "quick scan" found over 400 infections. But after numerous reboots, I'm still having this issue of not seeing the desktop and seeing the windows activation message. Every time I try and navigate to a folder using this workaround method, it generates various error messages saying "windows can't find blah blah blah". I honestly think this is a nasty virus, but without getting to a normal working windows desktop, I'm not sure where to begin. At the moment, I booted into safe mode and running another malwarebytes scan. Should be done in an hour or so.
Any thoughts?

[Karlsweldt]

Not a good idea to swap a hard drive with OS from one system to work in another! If there are any noted differences in components (chipset and features, mainly) then the OS may deem itself to be an illegal copy, and go belly up!
Always best to connect as a secondary drive, then use the primary drive to scan for defects or infections. Safer still is via an external case via USB.
Yes, there is a minor chance of an infection spreading to the main drive.. but better than having to reinstall and reactivate a good OS.
Maybe it is time to do a close scrutiny of the mechanical status of the system. Look at all the larger capacitors, for evidence of bulging tops, excess leaning or leakage. Definite proof of the "bad caps" syndrome. Unless repaired quickly, the mobo will soon be totally DOA. More info on the "bad caps" syndrome at www.badcaps.net/
Also look at those small dark chips next to the CPU and elsewhere.. about 1/2" square, with leads.. they are power regulators, and if any show signs of excess heat or crackling, they have gone bad. They must be replaced with the exact part, no substitute. And if any have evidence of a tiny hole in them, consider that other components have been damaged by excessive voltage. Bad capacitors can cause this problem, too.
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F@H.. to solve mankind's maladies.. in our lifetimes!

[gate4exec]