[rshaffer61]

Is system up and running?
Can you get me the specs on the PSU..Power Supply Unit?

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Yeah. If I dont plug the CD-Rom IDE cable in it's 100% functional and fine. Until it randomly blacks out.

PSU is a corsair, hx520w.

Hrm...what other specs are there to a PSU?

[Vimpoco2010]

Yeah. If I dont plug the CD-Rom IDE cable in it's 100% functional and fine. Until it randomly blacks out.

PSU is a corsair, hx520w.

Hrm...what other specs are there to a PSU?

[rshaffer61]

How old is the PSU please.

[Vimpoco2010]

Oh hmm.. I'd have to say it's 7 months old. So is all my other hardware, I bought it and built it all at the same time

[rshaffer61]

OK, I'm just trying to see if there is a possibility of failure. It could be a power issue or a motherboard issue. I'm just not sure at this point.

[Vimpoco2010]

After it blacked out just now the screen resolution was smaller than I had it >_> weird

[Vimpoco2010]

I'm gonna try reformatting in the next 24 hours - what would be the best way to back up all the important drivers?

[rshaffer61]

Drivers we can get from the past posts.
Once you format and get everything back on and it is stable I will help you get the drivers.
The most important will be the
Motherboard chipset and the Network.

[Vimpoco2010]

Ooooh it just occured to me. Reformatting would be bad, cause I dont have a CD drive thats operational right now (?????) And I wouldn't be able to install my wireless network adapter software without the CD. So I couldn't get online. :/

[rshaffer61]

That could be a problem.
Being that we have changed the IDE cable a couple of times.
Tried two different cd drives.
Problem still exist it seems the controller is maybe failing. This is just getting better as we go.

[Vimpoco2010]

I know I'm just inundated with one bad thing after another right?

I wonder if I should still reformat, under the risk of having to gamble with the cd drive working or not

[rshaffer61]

Well you could try it but at this point I just can't guarantee things will work correctly.
If you could get it to boot to the XP cd then you could do it all through the cd.


Go HERE for step by step instructions on how to partition, format, and install XP fresh



What I would suggest you do is to Backup your Data Files.
For this I would suggest using a External Hard Drive Enclosure. This will allow you to keep your Important Data safe and Separated from the main system in case of problems. The cost for this kind of Backup System has come down a lot. I would suggest a 500 Gig capacity for your needs. Since you will only be Backing Up Data Files Only this should be sufficient to do that for you. Follow the next two links to see examples of the price you will be looking at.
• HERE
• HERE

I suggest going to Microsofts Backup Tutorial and follow the steps to do a Backup to a External Drive and also it will guide you on how to do a Scheduled Backup even at night.

Another way you can do a Backup is by using DVD’s. This method is just as effective and can be done using the same steps as above.


After the above is done then go on to the next step.



Repair Installation Instructions

· Insert your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and then Restart your computer.
· At the first post screen start tapping the Del key to enter System Bios
· Find the Advance Options or Boot Sequence screen.
· You will need to change the boot sequence so that the CDrom is first and the HD is second.
· Press F10 to Save and Exit and then press Enter to accept.
· The system will now reboot
· When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
· When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER
· To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
· At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION.

· On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
· Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected and highlighted in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.
· Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

You can also go HERE
to read a step by step tutorial with screenshots.

Edited by rshaffer61, 19 January 2010 - 05:37 AM.

[Vimpoco2010]

lol im dumb, I just realized that I can't even reformat because my CD-Rom isn't working.......

also it uses Vista now

I was tempted to say screw it and buy new hardware, but then i realized i have no idea what to replace

[rshaffer61]

Just a FYI when we get to this point.
You can go to HERE to read the tutorial by one of the members here on how to do a Fresh Install or Repair Installation of you OS.

Let me ask you on your motherboard do you have more then one IDE controller?

[Vimpoco2010]

Like a slot to plug in more than one IDE connector? that would be a negative, unless you see something I dont

http://www.newegg.co.....D Motherboard


^^^^^^^black connector beneath where the main power cable goes(above SATA)