Arrrgggg computer freezeing/restarting

haha
uhhhh
ok
so should i take this as a;
"yeah just go buy a new power supply, you DELETED"?

It sometimes helps if you provide more info; what mobo, PSU, GFX, CPU etc.

300W is a tad on the low side, though.

Some mobos can, indeed, handle a 20-pin PSU, PROVIDED YOU FEED IT SOME EXTRA - from a molex connector with an adapter to fit into the extra 4 pins.

Considering how much a spare adapter costs, you're better off just buying a 400W PSU with a 24 pin connector.

Nonetheless, my system uses 150W or so at load.... So 300W is not really "low."

ok
so more info

ive got a;

- amd athlon 64 4000+
- GeForce 7600 GT
- MSI K8M890M2-V
- Only 512 RAM DDR...
- and an Antec 300v power supply



also
to find out if it is the power supply thats DELETED up my system;
what would happen if there isnt enough power?

my system either freezes or restarts or it has errors after windows starts up [and then it ends up restarting]


and

if i were to buy a new power supply
what do you recommend?
i was lookin at 450v ones
but i might just go and buy a huge one
just so i dont have to worry about it for a while

and

thanks to all yous who replied
i appreciate it

Sounds more like a bad ram stick, I would try running Memtest on it before you replace anything.

for that memtest to work
i need to be running my new system, right?
and i can run it from a cd or a floppy, right?

yup. It's basically a self-contained OS that does nothing but perform reads-writes in memory, and that verifies that what it reads is like what it wrote in the previous pass.

I think there must be some editions for USB flash drives. Many Linux distros also include it on their install CD.

RIGHT :!:

Mike

ok
well
if all it does is scan the ram;
the as long as im using the same ram,
i scan it with my old system running, right?

and

so is this what we think the problem is now?
instead of the power issue?

I had the same problem with one of my old computers ( P4 3.0, 1gig ram, abit motherboard, Geforce 3 video, and a Soundblaster sound card.) that I built.

The computer would reach windows desktop and would proceed to start slogging through anything. It would eventually crash and restart. Had to upgrade from a 300W PS to somethin over 400W.

Miraculously everything was fine and dandy after I upgraded.

Sorry to say but if its making it through the boot process I'd put my money on the powersupply. Ended up needing a new power supply.

Make sure ya get a PS with the 24 pin connector, though it comes standard for the most part these days.

wow
yeah
that sounds almost exactly like what happens to mine

well
what ill do
is ill try and use the program on my old system, with the 512 ram
and if it doesnt show any errors
then ill go ahead and buy a 400w-ish power supply


im still not sure if the program will do what its supposed too on my old system
but ill try it anyway...


thanks for everyones help

ok
so i scanned my ram, in my old system [which by the way took for ever]
and it said there was no errors

so unless i need to scan it in my new system [hopefully before it restarts],
is it pretty likely that i need a new power supply?

memtest86 is extremely thorough; the best way to use it is to leave the system running it all night. If memtest86 couldn't find anything wrong with your RAM, the fault lies somewhere else.

Changing the PSU will more than probably fix your troubles. Please note that we've told you that a dozen times already.

haha
duly noted

i decided jsut to buy a new power supply [580w]
and some more ram [another 512]

again
i know ive already said it like 8 DELETED times
but thanks a bunch too all you who helped

Pick a PSU from this list: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/ modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtop ic&p=1491365#1491365
Just wattage and price is not a good way to choose.
Also, that extra 512 ram should be the same as your current ram to avoid problems.

geofelt is right. Post the PS that you want to buy and get approval. 580W is a plenty for your specs, but there is a lot of junk around.

when i buy computer parts
i usually use newegg
and i usually pick out products that have alot of good reviews

i chose to get this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ ct.aspx?Item=N82E16817709011

also
i decided to buy a new 512 too

hopefully when i get it
it will fix my problems
but if not
ill tell you all whats goin on

thanks

So go buy a proper 24 pin powersupply of sufficiant wattage and amps,then run some benchmarks like memtest to see if your hardware is working right.Your psu should be at least 500watts with 30amps on the 12volt rail (total combined).Goodluck.

Dahak

M2N32-SLI DELUXE MB
ATHLON X2 5600+ @2.8(STOCK)
EVGA 7950 GX2 550/700
2X1GIG DDR2 800
TT TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
ACER 22IN WS LCD
SATA2 80/250GIG HD
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
XP MCE

A 7600gt pushes a 300w psu, wouldn't run on mine.

Also after a power failure during bootup sometimes the bios can become corrupt,jus keep it in mind(happened to me)gl.

I wouldnt get a sunbeam, regardless of the reviews, especially at that price. If you want to get something cheap but with enough power, get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

29A on the combined 12V rails, 18A max per rail. Good quality for the price.

I agree with Randomizer. Try reading some of the bad reviews. Here is a general rule of thumb.

DON'T EVER EVER BUY A POWER SUPPLY FOR $20.00.

The FSP is a cheap as I would ever go. It's actually cheaper than I would ever go. I don't know how much cash you have, but I would start at $100 and work my way up. If you are short on cash get the FSP.

hey
yeah
i think this might have happened to me

oh yeah
by the way
i got the stuff, and have put everything together
and its running great now!

but back to the bios
for some reason
it wont let me change any of the options in the bios now
its not really a problem
but i wanted to change the boot sequence

i was thinking about looking into jsut updateing it or something
but
how did you fix yours?

In case you haven't already reset the CMOS. Check the manual for the correct procedure and follow it to reset the CMOS. Different mobos reset CMOS differently. That will put you back to factory defaults and clear any gremlins.

thanks
worked perfectly!

im finally done with my computer
other then a few driver issues with my new graphics card that i will straighten out
it works like a beauty

finally
i can play halo 2 on my vista partition
and my computer runs quite a bit faster
and i can play all my old games on my XP partition on top quality
and finally, i can start playing WOW for the first time, and im pretty excited

thanks everyone for you help

No problem.
Remember that the PSU is not a 'dumb' piece of equipment anymore; it now contains sensitive electronics that condition the power saving modes used by the card and that can balance loads more efficiently.
A cheapo PSU won't use quality electronics, which may lead to:
- bad output stability: system unstable;
- low to zero power management: ACPI problems (which may hang ACPI-enabled kernels like Win2K, XP, Vista, and Linux)
- over/undervolting on rails: hardware wears
- bad acoustics: noisy as hell.

A good PSU costs some; but you get a stable system that will last longer and be less of a nuisance.

Glad it worked. You never posted whether you bought that $20 PS or the FSP.

oh sorry
yeah i bought that sunbeam that i posted earlier

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

so far it seems great
pretty quite
and everything is working fine
the only thing i could have hoped for would be more connection cables
but its ok
i ended up useing ever cable except one

You didn't heed my warning.   I hope you get lucky. Let us know if it blows up.

His system is not particularly stressful, he should be ok. Only time will tell.

@Zorg: Most FSP psus are cheap in dollar terms, but they make reasonably high quality parts. They make the parts for other manufacturers too, although I cant remember the names of those manufacturers. Their low-end psus (OEM ones, not the retail ones like I linked) are often used as "generic" psus in cheap cases, you are lucky if you happen to get one of them instead of other garbage psus.

And just a quick word on how to tell a good power supply review.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410/1

For $20 it's a crap shoot at best. Also he is liable to start eating hard drives etc. He will think that he just has bad parts when it's the garbage power that is doing it. I'm guessing that most of the dead equipment out there is the result of junk power supplies.

They may make the parts (boards) but I'll bet they still buy the components. I don't know this to be true, but I would hope that they use better components in their more expensive power supplies. If one is on a budget the FSP that you recommended would be fine, and 100 times better than what he bought. I just like to spend more in the hopes of getting better components, maybe just blind hope but what can I say.

bobjmoran,
Nice find. We will all have to go to the sites in the article for our PS reviews, or at least be more critical of that we read. I like how the Intel guy was named Andrew Watts, ha ha. Some nice links in the article too. Thanks.

haha
wow
i see that you really look down upon me for buy this power supply

i mean
so far its working like a dream
and if it breaks after 6 or so months
i wont mind much
because it was only 20$
and if my other computer parts suddenly start to die
then ill know whats doing it

but for now
i stick by my decision
and if in the end, it was a bad decision
well then
i guess i'll think twice before not listening to your advise
=]

Isn't the extra four pins on the motherboard connector used to power the PCI Express slot? If you don't use a 24 pin PSU, your Video card isn't getting enough power, especially cards like the 7600GT which don't use external power connectors.

yeah
thats what i ended up thinking my problem was
because after reading about PCI E's and and that jazz
i kinda realized that i need a 24 for it to work properly