Computer Probelms help please

[Dearka]

Does anyone know whats wrong with it? It randomly shutdowns at times, mostly when I'm playing Ragnarok online. Then sometimes I get that so called "blue screen of death". I wrote the last sentence:

Ntfs.sys - address f853 c884 base at 5850A000, Datestamp 3b7dc5do

I dunno if it will help

 

[Harvey]

We'll need to know more about your system. Tell us what motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply, vid card, OS, etc. you're using.

 

[Dearka]

I don't know about my motherboard and powersupply but..

OS: Windows XP home edtion
CPU: Intel P4 2.0
Ram: 512
Video card: Geforce 5200

 

[Harvey]

There are any number of possibilities, one of which could easily be your power supply. Do you know how many watts it's supposed to put out? If it's underpowered, you could easily get a spontaneous reboot.

The problem is, it could be any of a number of other things, too.

Is the power from the wall clean? That is, do you get power hits in your neighborhood, or does the voltage fall below normal (~ 117 volts AC)? Are there other heavy appliances on the same circuit, such as a refrigerator or air conditioner?

 

[Dearka]

It might be my powersupply. Do you by anychance know how I can find out what kind I have?

My comp is an hp pavillion

 

[Harvey]

Look on the back of your computer. The specs may be visible.

Was your machine built from components or something like a Dell or Compaq you bought already built? If it's a commercial system, the specs will be on the manufacturer's site. If you had it built at a shop, they may know what they used.

 

[Dearka]

Yeah it's already built.

This is the page for the specs

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu...t=62752&lang=en&cc=us&docname=bph06807

but I can't seem to find out what my power supply is T_T

 

[Harvey]

I found a couple of cross-references for the power supply for your Pavilion XT978. This one and this one are rated at 200 watts. This one is rated at 230 watts. In either case, I'd say your power supply is way underrated for your needs. For a 2 GHz P4, I'd want at least a good, true 350 - 400 watt supply.

Is your machine still in warranty? If so, get help from HP, and insist that either they make it work or allow you to return it. Then, hang around the forums, learn what components will do what you want, and use the money to buy something more capable of running your games.

Sorry, but I don't have a lot of respect for department store computers for exactly the reason you've encountered. They're built just strong enough to light up a Windows screen when you take them out of the box, but when you really try to use them the way you want, you're in for disappointment. The power supply isn't the only place I've seen these things cheaped out.

Good luck.