Not able to install anything...Installed OS(WinXP and Win2K) atleast 10 times

[slicksilver]

everytime i try to install anything i get a error while it is extracting..i dunno why this is happening coz. this is the first time in my 6yrs. of computer hardware exp. it is happening.......the hardware hasn't changed a bit nor has the bios settings.....some of the basic things i cant install are

1. winrar
2. winamp
3. office
4. nav
5. directx
etc...

i absolutely have no idea why this is happening ...i've checked for virus with the latest updates and have even cleansed my system with adaware but still it does not budge.........always is cranks out while the setup file is extracting....the only one thing i can think of is my power supply coz. it is weak and not functioning well (i mean in the games and high graphics stuff...but for basic use it was always ok)........can a PSU be the cause of file corruption and installation errors? i have a ghost image of win2k and winxp which i have been using successfully from the last 18 months successfully over and over without any problem........now the same images when restored give me the same problem again and again over and over. i just cant install anything except the os!......not even my video card drivers coz. they need to be extracted!....some of you might say my ghost files may have been corrupted.....but nooo..they aren't coz. the same problem was happening even after i setup winxp/win2k from scratch...can anyone tell me what this means? i mean does it point to any particular component? my guy and most probable feeling is that the PSU is near death(i mean its like on a pacemaker now i guess) and it is the cause for all of this..........i cant get another PSU coz. i dont have one but most probaly i will buy one in the next week....but first i want to know what is causing the problem...

thanks and looking forward to your replies guys...

Raj

 

[nater]

it would seem to me that if your power supply wasn't fucntioning properly you would have more problems with your PC than just installation issues. What is the exact error message you are getting? Or does it just freeze up?

 

[slicksilver]

oh yeah i do have....like the drivers wont install properly....games wont work...hardcore apps like premier dont function........a whole bunch of crap which was NEVER happening earlier....when i try to install nav or office i get a error 1723 saying some files could not be extracted....then i cant unzip archives...there is again an extraction error......i'm a veteran of like 300-400 installs and this is something i'm good at.....i'm 100% sure that is NOT the software doing it.......all i want to know is if this generally happens when a PSU is failing...

THanks anyways

Raj