back to square one after RMA

[Trizik]

I built a new machine last month with all brand new parts from Newegg. About two days after turning on the machine, it started into a continuous reboot. I thought I narrowed the problem down to a bad power supply because every time I lightly tapped the power supply the machine would reboot. I submitted an RMA and installed the new power supply. (Actually, I had to RMA the entire case because it came with the power supply and that's the only way I could RMA the power supply.) Anyway, to make a long story short, it's been about two days since I rebuilt the machine in the new case/power supply and I am experiencing the same problem again.

The continuous reboot happens anytime before, during, and after loading Windows, but usually just a few seconds after loading Windows. The first time it happened before the RMA was when I put the Battlefield 2 DVD into the DVD drive, and the first time it happened after the RMA was also when I put the Battlefield 2 DVD into the DVD drive.

I'm beginning to think the power supply that came with my case is too cheap to handle the power required by the hardware I'm using and thus fries itself. Is that possible?

My specs are as follows:

ASPIRE X-QPACK-AL/420 Black/Silver Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811144109

MSI RS480M2-IL Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813130485

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

ATI 100-435500 Radeon X800XL 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102509

2 x mushkin SP3200 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146190

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144160

SONY Black IDE Combo Drive Model CRX320E Black - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106819

 

[Some1ne]

The PSU *should* be okay for that setup if it really can deliver its specced 20A @ +12V. That said, it is a little bit on the cheap side given that $80 got you both the case and PSU. Generally you can expect to spend between $50 and $100 on just a decent PSU, and the PSU you have is definately towards the $50 end of the spectrum.

That said, you may want to test some of your other components in a different system if you have the ability. I'd start with the graphics card, and the DVD drive that you were putting the BF2 disc in, and then also go ahead and check the CPU and RAM if neither of those has problems. If all of them check out fine, then it probably is the PSU.

 

[Trizik]

Thanks for the reply.

I am almost certain it's the PSU because when I first installed the RMA replacement, I tapped it several times to see if it would reboot the machine. It didn't. But 2-3 hours later when I put the BF2 DVD in the drive and the machine rebooted, I immediately tapped the PSU while the machine was booting and it rebooted. Tap, reboot. Tap, reboot. You get the idea. The same exact scenario as before the RMA.

I'm going to buy a good PSU and see if that solves the problem. Preferably something in this size range: 6" W x 3.5" H x 4.5" D

Any recommendations?

 

[kirbymixmasta]

I had this problem with the psu i got with my aspire x-plorer. I just started using my old one. I wanna replace it with an enermax with longer cables but im stuck with this one for a while.

 

[Lalakai]

I think some 1ne is on right track and the ps will be the culprit. To try and narrow it down a bit more:

as basic as it sounds, go back through system and make sure that all connections are fully seated: ps, video, hd, memory, ect.

run system in safe mode and see if still crashes (does alot to verify if crash is software related).

try running system with only 1 memory stick, then switch to other stick (make sure they are fully seated in slots); bad memory modules will also cause crashes.

i had system that did same thing, ended up being faulty motherboard that would short out soon after boot up. Fortunately i was able to swap out most of the components until the last thing left was mb, and once i replaced that, problems went away. Hope your solution is easier. Good luck