• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Bad Card or Weak PSU

D

Doom4life

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
196
I just installed a Diamond 4650 AGP card into an AMD Semperon system. I booted up fine (though in 640 x 480, since the drivers werent installed) and backed up my files, as I wanted to do a fresh install and reformat everything.

Everything was fine, until the Windows XP setup screen glitched out when I moved my mouse:
setup.jpg


Thinking maybe it was a glitch, I let it go. When it was done, the computer restarted and the loading screen for Windows XP came up. It was glitched out, but this time it hung on the loading screen:
winxp.jpg


The PSU that is in there is just a generic 380W max PSU that came with the case. Does it look like I need to upgrade the PSU (400w is recommended) or could it be a defective card? I came across a defective card (x850) on my own system that left specks all over the screen. This was fixed with an exchange for a new card.
 
As an update, I had the computer off for about an hour and I turned it off to get the Windows XP cd out of the drive.

It now boots into Windows, so I am not sure what that might mean? Cooling wise, aside fromthe PSU and CPU fan, it has a rear fan. In a few weeks I was planning on adding a fan at the front of the case.

EDIT: Went away for 5 minutes while it installed drivers and rebooted. Cane back, froze. Rebooted and freezes past the Windows XP loading screen.

Any ideas?
 
Last edited:
I don't think it would boot up if the PSU couldn't handle your video card.

Maby a video card driver problem.
 
I'm using the standard VGA drivers that come with Windows XP, as I haven't installed the actual drivers yet.
 
your not ocing or anything are you? what gpu was in there before and did it work ok? i never saw a bad psu do that they tend to work or not work. does it do while its posting or in bios? if it only does it in xp then it could be a bad install or something. if it does it every where its a bad card. could be some thing whit xp can you try it whit windows vista or 7 or some live cd of linux. you could try putting you other card back in and seeing if it still does it. other then that i don't know what to tell you. one last thing did you check your cables good going to the monitor?
 
thax said:
your not ocing or anything are you? what gpu was in there before and did it work ok?
Click to expand...

The previous card was a Radeon 9200 and it was fine. The PSU camer with the case, and I think it said 330w and 380W Max, but I am not 100% sure.

I guess I'll try the old card tomorrow and see what happens.
 
Doom4life said:
The PSU that is in there is just a generic 380W max PSU that came with the case. Does it look like I need to upgrade the PSU (400w is recommended) or could it be a defective card?
Click to expand...
Doom4life said:
The previous card was a Radeon 9200 and it was fine.
Click to expand...

You won't be able to properly diagnose whether your video card functions properly until you get it into a functioning system that meets the minimum requirements. It can be yours or someone else's, doesn't matter. Either way, you will need to upgrade the PSU before you use that card in your system long term.

The power supply is most likely your problem. 99 times out of 100, the PSU's that come with cases are complete utter pieces of shit. The companies that produce them use the lowest grade components, inflate the output numbers (or just re-label smaller units), and counterfeit their UL labels. They don't even work well as doorstops. About the only thing you can do with them is swing them over your head like a barbarian. Even if the PSU is not the problem, your still running your system on a 380w POS that most likely can't output half of what its sticker says. Your also overtaxing your PSU when the recommendations are for a 400w crappy generic power supply (the recommendations are always lax). If the Power supply is overtaxed, all the voltage lines to the motherboard and video card will begin to sag (undervolt) and you can experience everything from blue screens to RAM or video memory artifacts (e.g. the black trails that are appearing behind your cursor). Your also putting in a Video card that is atleast 5 years newer, and sucks down more than twice the power.

Think about it this way...
Every component in your system is hooked up to that power supply. Do you really want to trust every component to a power supply that can take everything else with it when it dies?

Upgrade your PSU ASAP. Stop by the Power Supply sub-forum for plenty of recommendations.
Please keep in mind that the higher quality power supply you choose, the less total wattage you will need. There is no reason you couldn't run that system on a good quality 300-350w power supply. However, always err on the bigger side for upgrade purposes in the future.
 
Last edited:
If you upgrade your PSU, I'd go with at least a 500W to be safe. You can get a good 500W PSU for around $50-$79 these days. And you can use Bing cashback to get a few dollars back too.
 
SonDa5 said:
I don't think it would boot up if the PSU couldn't handle your video card.

Maby a video card driver problem.
Click to expand...

1, Yes it would. The GPU isn't being used to where it consumes enough power to choke a PSU.

2, When's the last time windows used problematic generic drivers in the XP Startup screen and during the XP install?
 
Just a short update, and thak you to all who replied. It ended up being the power supply.

I figured it was such, so rather then trying it out on my main machine, I bought a new Corsair 400watt for $40. I figured if it wasn't the PSU, no harm done, as you can't beat a good quality PSU.

For what its worth, the one that came with the case is firggen light!! I'd venture to bet it weighs half as much as the Corsair.
 
Doom4life said:
Just a short update, and thak you to all who replied. It ended up being the power supply.

I figured it was such, so rather then trying it out on my main machine, I bought a new Corsair 400watt for $40. I figured if it wasn't the PSU, no harm done, as you can't beat a good quality PSU.

For what its worth, the one that came with the case is firggen light!! I'd venture to bet it weighs half as much as the Corsair.
Click to expand...
I'm glad [H] could be of help.:cool:

The reason cheap PSU's are so light is because they use as few parts necessary to get the job done. Also, a lot of the weight loss comes from lack of heatsinks to keep the components cool.

Good choice on the Corsair also, its a damn fine unit and one of the best on the market in that power range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top