More pc problems

[hejlik]

I have asked questions about this computer before on this forum, and I would like to thank all of you for your help. But the (PC from hell) is still giving me fits. I started out building a pc for my friend with these components.

FOXCONN SUPER CASE Silver/Black MID TOWER CASE with Allied 300W PSU
AMD Athlon XP 2000+, 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor
SOYO KM400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "SY-K7VMP2
Seagate 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST340014A
Lite-On Beige 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S BEIGE
256 mb crucial 2700 ddr ram

This pc has giving me all kinds of problems. First I tried to use windows 98 se on the machine, but they were having all kinds of problems. I also installed a new modem for them when I built the pc, and it worked fine for about a week, and then it quit. It made an awful noise when it dialed. So I replaced it with an old one I had. They were also having problems with quick books. any time they wanted to do a backup, they had to restart the pc first, and then it didn't always work. They tried doing a backup on the cd burner, and onto floppy's and it was always hit or miss. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't. One time when she started quick books 2 years were missing in her entries. None of her customer information went past 2002.

I finally got rid of windows 98, and switched to windows xp. I have had problems installing software since. Quick books wouldn't work the first time I installed it, but seems ok now. Same with Norton. I thought I had it figured out, but now when I try to update programs, Norton, Windows update, etc. The modem hangs. It doesn't disconnect, it just stops transmitting and receiving. I tried connecting to the internet, or E-mail when it does this, but nothing. So I disconnect, then reconnect, and it works for a while, and hangs again. Is there some setting I am missing. I have set it to never disconnect, but that doesn't help.

It seems that whatever I do to the pc from hell, there is always a problem. Could it be a bad power supply? Bad Mother board? Is there a way I can check these thing to see if they are working properly. I used pc-check and tested all the components before I installed xp. I didn't do the full test on the hard drive as that would have taken about 8 hours. Could the hard drive be the problem? I do have their old hard drive in the pc. The only way I could get it to work was make their old hd the master, the new hd the slave, then I boot from the slave. Could this be what is wrong? This thing is really starting to get on my nerves. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Tazzin]

Interesting problems...

Suggestion...
strip it down.. remove all cables / drives.
verify all mobo jumpers.
verify all drive jumpers.
> only install the New HD, CDRW, and Floppy.
reconnect all cables.
During POST.. go into BIOS..
>First Boot Device - CDROM
insert XP CD.
save BIOS settings and exit.
PC should boot into XP Setup (be sure to press a key when prompted.
delete all partitions.
create new partition (whole drive or whatever)
install XP.
install mobo drivers.
install any other drivers required.
install ISP software.
enable XP firewall on the dialup connection.
install Norton.
connect to Internet to run LiveUpdate.
reboot (im sure you will have to)
enable Connection Keep Alive in Norton.
run Windows Update.
see if it loses connection.

[hejlik]

Actually, that is how I installed xp. I didn't put the new hard drive in until I had it up and running. I tried switching the modem to a different slot, and I thought I had it. It seemed to work better for a while. But it started acting up again.

One thing I didn't mention. I haven't activated xp yet. It is an oem version, so I don't want to activate it until I am sure it is working properly. I don't think this should affect anything, but I have been wrong before.

[LeftCoast]

I think I would use Killdisk (or some other prog that writes zeros) to zero out the drives, just to ensure you're not reinstalling a virus or reusing corrupt win files. Formatting the drives doesn't really remove any info.

Try setting your HDDs to cable select to see if you have better luck installing XP after the disk wipe. Booting from a slave is not helping your problem, for sure.

Also, what are the specifics of the hard drives? Brands, sizes?

www.killdisk.com

[DanGrease]

I would also suggest KillDisk. It really works.

dan

[jmichna]

All the above comments are good, solid suggestions. Your 300W Allied PSU "should" be okay, but from all the items in your list, it seems to be the weakest component. Also, it never hurts to boost the vDIMM slightly to improve RAM stability. I always add +0.2v and run all my ram at 2.70 vDIMM.