Made some hardware upgrades; Windows won't load

[caseyamspacher]

Hey guys,
Yesterday, I received a NVidia 6600GT, along with a NEC 3520A DVD Burner. I installed the video card first, figuring it would be the less troublesome piece. The first time I booted up with the card, Windows loaded perfectly, but did announce that my NVidia card is getting too little power, and the video card settings will be adjusted to reflect that. I then rearranged the power connectors in the box, restarted, and was fine. No warning, just simple, HL2 fun.

Well, about 3 hours later I decide to install the DVD Burner. I make it the slave on one of the channels (with the master being a regular CD-ROM, begin to boot up, and strange things begin to happen. It'll start to boot, and sometimes get through the BIOS to the Windows Splash screen, but never further. Usually when I try to boot directly after, it won't even make it out of the BIOS. I've taken out the CD-ROM and tried to boot, rearranged the power configurations, and nothing seems to fix it.

At times, I will get to the screen asking if you would like to head to Safe Mode, or the Last Known Good Configuration. I pick safe mode, but get stuck on the dastardly mup.sys. I have read up on this, and it seems to be especially bothersome to those with SP2, like me. But I don't think it's the problem in this case. Everything was working great, and then I added a drive, a power consuming item. I had already gotten a warning regarding low output to the video card, so I figure the PSU is definitely at fault.

But I tried a 370W Enermax PSU, and I still see nothing after the Windows splash screen. Is 370W too little for this system?

Current Setup:
AMD 64 2800+
Chaintech VNF-250
1GB Corsair Memory
XFX 6600GT
Maxtor 80GB
M-Audio Mobile Pre
Maxtor 120GB External
Lite-On CD-RW 52x
NEC 3520A DVD+/-RW
350W Antec, but have attempted booting with 370W Enermax, to no avail.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Creston]

"Is 370W too little for this system? "

Well, there are two thoughts on that, but considering the amount of hardware you have in your system, I'm definitely thinking that you have too little juice going.

It's pretty easy to check btw. Take out your Lite-On CD-RW, and power up, see if it will power. It IS possible that your NEC 3520A is broken, but I'm a bit unsure as to how it would stop your entire computer from booting up.

If your computer boots fine with either the Lite-On or the NEC inside (but won't boot with both), it's definitely a power issue.

350-370 is skirting it a bit close. Do you know how much Amps are on that Power supply's 12 V line?
I'm especially weary that you were already getting power shortage messages (didn't even know the 6600 did that) BEFORE you added the NEC dvd burner...

Try it without one or the other of the CD/DVDs and if that confirms it's the power, there is a great thread on the general forum about power supplies and what to look for. And then it's time to shell out some money for a good quality PS I think.

Creston

 

[Smilin]

Boot failures that happen at random points rather than a consistent point in the processare usually indicators of power problems.

A 370 isn't enough.

 

[meltdown75]

In case you end up needing it, here's a power supply calculator which is very handy to have around when questions like this arise:

Text

AND - Welcome to the forums

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
In case you end up needing it, here's a power supply calculator which is very handy to have around when questions like this arise:

Text

AND - Welcome to the forums

Hey that's pretty nifty.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: meltdown75
In case you end up needing it, here's a power supply calculator which is very handy to have around when questions like this arise:

Text

AND - Welcome to the forums

Hey that's pretty nifty.

I like to overshoot my power requirements in order to be upgrade-safe in the future. I usually take whatever the calc says and add 50W on top of it, and then get the next-nearest higher wattage. I have a 400W right now, even though my system doesn't require anywhere near 400W. There are some other calculators out there - I've seen a handful. There are several linked to on Anandtech, though I'll leave that searching for you to do. Best of luck!

 

[caseyamspacher]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
In case you end up needing it, here's a power supply calculator which is very handy to have around when questions like this arise:

Text

AND - Welcome to the forums

Thanks.

I just used this, and my current system waged to about 302W, which is significantly less than either the 350W or 370W PSUs handles. Any ideas? Could the PSUs be rated far above their performance?

Also, may it just be the power configuration I have setup? I don't really know the physical difference between the 12V, 5V, 7V rails, so any distinctions you could clarify would be great to make sure I'm running the correct rails to the correct hardware.

 

[Kaiser__Sose]

just try booting without the cd rom and see if it's the Power supply. also with temp increase the output on the PSU will decrease so if your system is running hot or the room it's in is hot you will be getting less than 350W that's for sure.

 

[A Scream]

Originally posted by: caseyamspacher

Thanks.

I just used this, and my current system waged to about 302W, which is significantly less than either the 350W or 370W PSUs handles. Any ideas? Could the PSUs be rated far above their performance?

Also, may it just be the power configuration I have setup? I don't really know the physical difference between the 12V, 5V, 7V rails, so any distinctions you could clarify would be great to make sure I'm running the correct rails to the correct hardware.

Welcome.

First thing to do is unplug the DVD burner. See if it boots... make sure when you unplug it that you disconnect it from the MB not just from the burner.

Also, it's 12v, 5v, and 3.3v.

As to the following, I'm not 100% sure this is right but I think its pretty close.
basically you have volts, amps, and watts. When you mutliply the volts and the Amps, you get the watts.

Amps are how much power the item is using.

volts are... well I'll use the folling illistration.

3.3 is like sipping a glass of water.
5v is like drinking it normally.
12v is like gulping it down.

you have the three different ways to drink the same amount of water (amps), but one uses it faster.

Hope that helps...

Originally posted by: Creston
t's pretty easy to check btw. Take out your Lite-On CD-RW, and power up, see if it will power. It IS possible that your NEC 3520A is broken, but I'm a bit unsure as to how it would stop your entire computer from booting up.

The only way it can stop the computer from booting is a drastic power draw from the dvd rom or a bad cable.