Please help! big hardware problem!!!

[Vigilante82]

Hey,

A few days ago, I started getting many random errors in windows. Sometimes my computer would randomly reboot itself or when I was running programs I would get booted back to windows for no reason. When the reboots happened, I would hear the clicking noise that is made when I turn the power on my computer on or off. At first I thought that the problem was a software one as I just made my computer 2 months ago and it has been working perfectly since then. The problem is, even after I formatted my hard drive, the rebooting still happened. I began to suspect that the problem was a hardware one. When I formatted my computer a second time, I couldn't even install Windows Xp. I kept on getting errors that told me that certain files couldn't be copied properly. Eventually, I started getting these weird error messages that stopped the installation completely. They were some page fault errors if I remember correctly and they showed some codes that looked something like 0x00005 and stuff like that.

I took out every component in my computer except for the bare essentials: Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Vid Card, CDROM, HD, but the problem still exists. A friend of mine suggested that the problem might be with my RAM. Perhaps it has become faulty??

I was wondering if you guys can help me figure out what is causing these problems. If it is the RAM, is there any way I can test to make sure it is the RAM that is causing the problems? I only have 1 computer that supports DDR ram so I can't really test the RAM on another system. I also only use 1 stick of ram as well so I can't just remove 1 stick and test the other. I have warrenty for my RAM so if I can find out for sure that its the RAM that is causing the problems I can get it replaced.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

My SPECS:

Athlon 1900+ XP
Epox 8KHA+
512 MB PC-2100 Samsung RAM
Maxtor 40 GB 7200 RPMS
MSI Geforce 4 Ti 4400
SB Live Value!
Windows XP Professional

M.N.

 

[CrazySaint]

Hmmm...if you're hearing a clicking sound, it might be your HD...

 

[Vigilante82]

I dont' think its my hard drive. The clicking sound is identical to the clicking sound I hear when I turn off my computer. Its the power-off sound. Thanks for the input.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

My top picks for Vigilante errors:

1. Bad HDD.
2. Bad PSU.
3. Bad stick of RAM.

 

[CedarTeeth135]

It kinda seems like you may have a PSU problem. Computers usually reboot after a short power break, such as during a thunderstorm.

I would try using a different PSU and make sure that everything is connected properly.

 

[peter7921]

Whats the power rating of your power supply? Also did you have any problems at all before?

 

[Vigilante82]

My power supply is 320 Watts. Prior to a few days ago, for the two months i've had my computer I haven't had any problems at all.

 

[dkozloski]

Disconnect the power supply where it connects to the motherboard, spray some contact cleaner on the connectors, plug and unplug the connection a few times and try it again.

 

[foofoo]

hi,
unfortunately, i've found that those types of errors on install are almost always bad ram. if you cant borrow some known good ram from a friend or someone, then i'm not sure how you could test for it. if it were me, i'd rma it.
good luck

 

[Vigilante82]

Hey,

Thanks for your help guys. I suspect that the problem must be either bad RAM or Power supply based on your input. Would a bad power supply cause the installation problems that i've mentioned?? or the booting back to windows?