Start Up Failure?

[Booby]

Hi, i've been having a problem for a while now which is that my pc often takes 3 or 4 attempts to turn it on. The machine powers up fine, but once it gets to the windows log-in screen, the power just turns off. My system atm is:

AMD Athlon XP 2100+ 1.7g
Abit KD7
512mb Crucial pc2700 ddr 333
WD Caviar 40gb
Maxtor 6Y0L080 80gb

I've recently bought the new RAM and was using it along side another stick of the same, but suspected the old one was faulty and so i've taken it out. But it seems to have had no effect.

Also, whilst playing games such as Counter-Strike and CS:Source, on a few occasions, my pc has completely restarted itself with no warning whatsoever. After this all i get is the "System has recovered from a serious error" message.

Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Oh, one last thing, after its been switched on for 5 mins or so, if i turn it off and come back to it within a couple of minutes, it will start first time with no problems!

thanks for any help.

 

[folken]

What is your video card and power supply?

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[Booby]

radeon 9700 atlantis
and
Q-tec Gold 550W

I read a post on another forum about someone with a similar problem. Apparently he just put a new PSU in and all was fine. I've also heard that Q-tec aren't exactly the greatest PSU's around. I guess thats what i'll have to end up doing.

Oh i also stuck my other ram stick back in and it seemed to work better with the sticks in the opposite slots? :/
windows seems to boot a lot quicker now anyway.

 

[folken]

Yea, definatly get a new psu.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[whataboutbob]

I dont have the matching specs of your PC but Ive had that type of problem before. It had to do with my memory timing settings in my motherboard. Sometimes I had to power off the power supply several times to get it to start and at times of high memory load i.e. playing games or copying large amounts of data it would crash.

Try using just the new memory stick and see if its stable.

 

[Booby]

yeh, i tried using just the new ram but it seemed to do exactly the same thing. i've now put the other stick back in and it enhances the performance of the machine once it actually turns on.

if i were to buy a new power supply, what suggestions would people make? bearing in mind i only have a limitted bank and want something that will last me for a while.

cheers

 

[sobelizard]

Skimming on your powerplant will only cause more problems. Spend the $ now and avoid the hassles later. There are quite a few varying opinions on psu's. Instead of quoting parts and stats, take a moment and <A HREF="http://compreviews.about.com/cs/casesandmods/bb/aabybpsus.htm" target="_new">read</A>. Knowledge and understanding is half the battle.

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