Someone please help me fix this computer

ajstan

ajstan

ajstan

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3 Jan 2009
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London
So I needed a cheap computer, I used:

Gigabyte G41M-ES2L
E5400
Unbranded 1gb DDR2-800 RAM x2
Seagate Sata HDD
IDE DVD Drive

RM Fseries PSU and case (sticker from PSU pictured below)

img3546xq.jpg


I know this already sounds like a recipe for disaster but it still should work.


First time I tried it, it installed just fine. Worked for a few hours then constant error messages have been displayed in windows, after a while I decided to reinstall windows. I get BSOD everytime the windows setup is loading after booting from CD.

I have changed the HDD, DVD drive, taken out the RAM, tried new RAM, tried just one stick of RAM and reset BIOS - none of which worked.

Here is the BSOD msg:

img3544.jpg


Does anybody have any ideas?
 
I would have said RAM as a first suggestion but seeing as you've tried that already...possible that your Windows CD is borked I guess.

Are you trying to install XP? If so what version? Does it have SP2 included? I've seen a problem similiar to this were older versions of XP wouldnt install on newer hardware because of some driver issues. You could try slipstreaming SP2 onto a new CD using nLite and see what happens.

The only other thing I could thing of is that 'interesting' PSU you have but I wouldnt expect it to give an error like this.
 
Thanks, forgot to mention I've tried numerous different CDs including SP1 and 2, still no luck. They were all RM discs though, I've just tried a dell xp disc and it seems to be getting much further.. My fingers are crossed :p
 
I would say that a 160W PSU is just not going to power that system and is likely to be the cause of your problem, does that PSU have the correct 24pin ATX connector and the 4 pin CPU connector?
 
MeatLoaf said:
I would say that a 160W PSU is just not going to power that system and is likely to be the cause of your problem, does that PSU have the correct 24pin ATX connector and the 4 pin CPU connector?
Click to expand...

It has a 20pin connector, and 4pin CPU. The motherboard manual says its fine to run it off 20pin though :)

Phoenixdancer said:
the PSU is to low in power
Click to expand...

That did cross my mind hence me posting the sticker from the PSU, but this doesn't seem like that kind of problem? Surely it would just turn off?
 
Your CPU, hard drive and motherboard all want to use the 12v power of the PSU. 12A of power where it's needed most is just insufficient for today's modern systems. You'd need to be running it undervolted and underclocked I'd imagine for it to stable.

The CPU itself draws 6A. A hard drive will draw about 1-2A. I don't know what a motherboard draws but it's bound to use a few amps. As the psu chews through 10Amps of power the rail is probably unsteady, the voltage drops and you BSOD.
 
Just to update, I found a dell xp cd, worked fine, installed everything, ran prime95 for 24hours and it still works perfectly.

The PSU can run it just fine :)
 
Man your other cd's musta been shte, i would suggest upgrading that psu with a 1c auction off ebay tho, even a shtty 300w will do that machine proud.

Good job getting it working tho, like the others said.
 
In contrast to everyone else, I think that PSU rating is fine for the spec. The amperage figures above were all worst-case scenario e.g. HDD might pull 2A for a couple of secs at spinup, but will quickly settle to under 0.5A. Even with everything at max I doubt you'd exceed 120W total draw which is only 75% of your 160W unit. In real-world use I think you'd be under 70W.

My only concern for the PSU is if it is old, then the caps may have started to dry out which will make the output less stable and more likely to crash the system over time.
 
vsmora said:
My only concern for the PSU is if it is old, then the caps may have started to dry out which will make the output less stable and more likely to crash the system over time.
Click to expand...

It is old, but parts used by RM tend to be high quality and are expensive, so hopefully it will be fine :)
 
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