Refuses to, uh, work?--Sorry, not very descriptive

[Kronos]

I had a question (obvious, I guess, since otherwise I wouldn't be posting this).
I guess I'll try to do this right, so here's the specs on my system:

Case:Aspire X-Navigator
MoBo:--DFI LANParty NF4 Series
CPU:AMD Athlon 64-bit 3200+
PSU:500W, came with the case---do I need the manufacturer, etc?
Video Card:MSI ATI Radeon RX550 256MB DDR2
Sound Card:Came with the MoBo--should I elaborate further, or is it unnecessary?
RAM:1xPNY 512MB PC2700 (DDR333) (I'm going to add more, but starting with this)
HDD:Maxtor ATA/100 (Crappy, I know, but I'm going to upgrade soon) 320GB 7200RPM
KB and Mouse:Logitech Premium Wireless
CPU Fan:Antec CPU Cooler
Floppy:Something generic, works though
Optical:I/O Magic 8x DVD-+R/RW
-----Did I forget to include anything? And by the way, I'm building two nearly identical systems (except for the HDD, which I'll eventually upgrade on both).


Now onto the question: I've looked all over the internet for a guide on installing the OS, but because they can't (obviously) be specific to each mobo, couldn't find one that said anything other than what is commonly stated. My problem is this: getting the comp to boot to the Win2k CD in the drive in order to install the OS. It gets to the "Boot from CD:" part, then decides to take a vacation and reset. Continually. I can get more specific, but does this trigger anything that says "oh, the dufus isn't doing such and such", etc.? I mean, am I missing something obvious?

Sorry if it's a bad question.

P.S.Do I need to post links for each of the hardware components?

[flanzig1]

The PSUs that come with Aspire cases are junk, it probably isn't ATX 2.0 standard. I would start by getting a good quailty ATX 2.0 PSU.

[Kronos]

Thanks for the recommendation flanzig1,
Well, I was going to get a new power supply (par your recommendation), but ended up not doing so because I finally found that the CD (or DVD, rather) drive that I was using wasn't working. Once I changed it, WinXP installed and booted up just fine. Thanks again for you help.

[hobey19]

you still may want to swap psu's. aspire psu's are junk as flanzig said, and you are running a major risk using it. check out the psu stickies in the general hardware forum and you will see what some good ones are

craig

[andper10]

This FSP AX450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954) is a nice budget PS that will accept all the current video cards from the ATI X1900 series (but the XTX might be a bit too much for it). I think that all the Nvidia 7k series should work with it too. The Xclio 450BL (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817189003) is a nice budget choice too, but I wouldn't count on it running the X1900's or the high end Nvidia's. The Seagate 7200.10 series HD's are a nice choice for your HD upgrade (they come in 250GB to 750GB sizes, 16MB Cache versions are a good idea).

[Kronos]

Thanks for the info; I'll definitely look into upgrading the power supply. I also liked the suggestions of andper10 for the hard drive. Mmmmmm, 320GB Sata, you're mine. Thanks again everyone for the info.

BTW, hobey19, is your name Craig? 'Cause that's my name.

One more thing: do I have to close the topic when it's completed?

[Kronos]

Thanks for the info; I'll definitely look into upgrading the power supply. I also liked the suggestions of andper10 for the hard drive. Mmmmmm, 320GB Sata, you're mine. Thanks again everyone for the info.

BTW, hobey19, is your name Craig? 'Cause that's my name.

One more thing: do I have to close the topic when it's completed?

[Kronos]

Sorry for the double-post. Is there any way to delete it?

[DarkPacMan77]

a forum moderator has the power to delete it, nobody else.

as long as nobody posts in this thread anymore, it will just be sent to the bottom of the list, and then later it will just be forgotten

[Kronos]

Oh, ok. Thanks for the info, DarkPacMan77.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Kronos And by the way, I'm building two nearly identical systems (except for the HDD, which I'll eventually upgrade on both). Now onto the question: I've looked all over the internet for a guide on installing the OS, but because they can't (obviously) be specific to each mobo, couldn't find one that said anything other than what is commonly stated. My problem is this: getting the comp to boot to the Win2k CD in the drive in order to install the OS. It gets to the "Boot from CD:" part, then decides to take a vacation and reset. Continually. I can get more specific, but does this trigger anything that says "oh, the dufus isn't doing such and such", etc.? I mean, am I missing something obvious?

Does this happen with both computers?

Cricket

[Kronos]

Originally Posted by Cricket Does this happen with both computers? Cricket

No, but I hadn't tried the other computer yet--I wanted to get one up and running before I tried the other one, because I could then omit any mistakes that didn't contribute to the success of the computer.

When I finally did install XP on the other machine, it worked, but then it started rebooting (continually) as soon as it reached the point when the OS would load. I thought it might be the Hard Drive, but that didn't make any sense, because when I first installed XP, it would boot fine. I finally pinned it down by rebooting after each new piece of software I installed (MoBo Utils, Drivers, etc.) and found that it was an outdated graphics driver. After downloading the newer one from the manufacturer's website (which took 3 hours, cause I'm on dial-up-), it worked just fine, is much more stable, and hasn't crashed once. Considering what the others have recommended, though, I'll probably look into getting a new power supply.

Speaking of power supplies, I had another question on it: I've got a 500-Watt PSU (probably junk, judging by what others have said). The computer that I have doesn't eat all that much power (or at least I don't think so). If I put all my components into a power supply calculator and it came up with a wattage level much lower than the power supply that I have (the junky one), do I need to get a new one? I mean, is it that the PSU that I have is bad no matter how much power I need, or is it only that it doesn't supply up to the amount stated, and I wouldn't have to get another one unless I needed the full 500W, which it probably wouldn't deliver? Sorry if it's unclear; I could rephrase it if necessary.

[flanzig1]

The overall amount of Watts a PSU has is just one factor to determine the proper PSU for a particular system. Things to consider:
1: The Watts needed for the system
2: Type of PSU required: older systems use the ATX standard(one 12v line and 20 pin connector(most case included psus are of this type)/Newer system require the ATX 2.0 standard(2 or more 12v lines/24 pin main and 4pin CPU power connectors)
3: quality makers of PSUs/ think a $45 case with a 500w supply or a $45 PSU from Fortron/which one would you use
4: Efficancy: means is the PSU a toaster