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Computer wont boot or install windows

M

MoDsOuRcEdOtNeT

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
469
Alright, I had some problems with my computer before, it would shut down once in windows after 30 seconds-45 minutes and I thought I had fixed it by formatting and reinstalling windows but it happened again and now when I boot I can see the first POST screen but then my monitor says its in standby (light blinking) and i hear nothing except a slight clicking noise from my hdd. I dont think my hdd is dead because i was able to backup some files and format it yet again on this computer and my memory all checked out fine in memtest32 and I just cant think of why this could be happening. Any ideas? Thanks.

Edit: I tried my second hdd which had win xp installed and it booted fine, except still restarted every 15 seconds, I dont think this could be a virus because it wasnt even connected to my system for a good 3 months. My second hdd still wont even get past the first post screen everything is happening as above. I'm really confused :confused:
 
I personally would start with the power supply. Make sure you are getting stable rails and sufficient voltages to your PC.

I've had a PC before that an antec PS began to die on... first it would reboot randomly. Then one day it decided to just post and then stop. Not even make it to the windows XP loading screen. Swapped it out with a cheapy CompUSA 300w PS for the time being as a test. Fired right up and never had the same problem again.
 
l337zax said:
I personally would start with the power supply. Make sure you are getting stable rails and sufficient voltages to your PC.

I've had a PC before that an antec PS began to die on... first it would reboot randomly. Then one day it decided to just post and then stop. Not even make it to the windows XP loading screen. Swapped it out with a cheapy CompUSA 300w PS for the time being as a test. Fired right up and never had the same problem again.
Click to expand...

How would I figure out what stable rails and good voltages are? My +5 seemed a little shakey but I dunno whats normal.

BTW its a thermaltake 480W PSU.
 
MoDsOuRcEdOtNeT said:
How would I figure out what stable rails and good voltages are? My +5 seemed a little shakey but I dunno whats normal.

BTW its a thermaltake 480W PSU.
Click to expand...

Stable rails are when your PS can output a steady source of power to the +3.3, +5, & +12v. The more they fluxuate, the more problems they can give you. Small fluxuations should not be a problem. But lets say if your +12v was jumping from 11.3v to 12.2v that would be a very uneven source of power.

Its not a very efficient or accurate way to check this, but if your can get your computer to the post screen, jump into your mobos CMOS and there should be a hardware monitoring section where you can watch your initial voltages. Your computer will require more voltates as you do things in WinXP though... like playing games, etc. But this way you can see what your voltages are and make sure they're somewhat close to the needed rails of 3.3, 5, and 12. Small increments or decriments like 3.38v is nothing to worry about, but when you have some large increments or decriments like 2.78v or 3.9v, you may have some problems.
 
My 3.3 jumps from about 3.3 to 3.45 my 5 seems the worst jumping from 4.3 to 4.7 and my 12 is at a almost constant 12.71.

Seems pretty normal?

Edit: My computer even rebooted while I was in the BIOS screens :( I cant figure this out.
 
Not extermely bad.. but they do fluxuate quite a bit more than they should.

I would still try a different PS. Even if its from another PC that you have. Or you could even go to a store like Best Buy, CompUSA.. etc.. and pick up a different one to try out.
 
Bah, this is so weird, think im gonna go down to my local computer shop and get them to test everything for 45 bucks.
 
Alright, I ripped my power supply out and every single 5v line (Red wires) are burnt out. The pins on my motherboard were dissintigrated and the atx connector has burn marks. Yet I can still kinda boot. Is my motherboard still good, can I replace the pins and my psu? Any insight would help.
 
Well you might as well get a new PS since you're gonna need a new one anyway, and put it in to see if everything still works. The other components should be ok.. but no guarantees on that.
 
Well the pins on the motherboard appear to be 'missing' so do I need a new motherboard or is it fixable since it kinda booted before?
 
Are the pins from your motherboard stuck inside your old powersupply's ATX connector??

If you dont have all the pins inside your motherboards ATX connector.. I wouldn't bother plugging a new PSU into it... but rather get a new motherboard as well. Not worth the chance.
 
Alright, upon closer examination I found the motherboard pins I thought were missing just had scorch marks, so since my computer would boot before for just a few seconds and then reboot/reboot in bios/reboot when trying to reinstall windows does that mean that I just need a new power supply? If so I could test with my mothers psu :D but if my motherboard is possibly to blame I dont want to have to buy more parts. Any suggestions would be nice. Also thanks a lot l337zax you've been a great help. I sent in a rma request to Thermaltake, wonder if they will accept it with a 1 year old psu? :p
 
MoDsOuRcEdOtNeT said:
Alright, I ripped my power supply out and every single 5v line (Red wires) are burnt out. The pins on my motherboard were dissintigrated and the atx connector has burn marks. Yet I can still kinda boot. Is my motherboard still good, can I replace the pins and my psu? Any insight would help.
Click to expand...

From this post... it sounds like it was the wires on your PS that were burnt correct?

I would get the different power supply. Those rails were pretty unstable and from my best guess are the sole cause of your problems. Get the new PS and try it out. It should fix the problem, but if something similar occurs, your motherboard probably took a hit and will need to be replaced as well. And if your mobo took a good hit, other components may have been put in jeopardy as well. Like the CPU, Ram, HDDs... etc.

Lets just hope that its your PS. I've got my fingers crossed for ya. :D

Good luck!
 
We'll I tested my ram after maybe... 30 reboots from me trying to fix it and it checked out and my hardrive worked on this computer so I think that is all fine. But can a bad mobo kill a psu? I wanna test with one but dont wanna kill it too.
 
MoDsOuRcEdOtNeT said:
We'll I tested my ram after maybe... 30 reboots from me trying to fix it and it checked out and my hardrive worked on this computer so I think that is all fine. But can a bad mobo kill a psu? I wanna test with one but dont wanna kill it too.
Click to expand...

Yes.. I know this from experience. A bad PS can kill a mobo. I had an Abit mobo for my Athlon 700.. my Antec 300w was fading in and out on me as far as voltages and I didn't pay attention. Ended up popping about 70% of the capacitors on my board. I went through 2 boards before I figured out it was the PS. :rolleyes:
 
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