Random reboots, XP not loading, MUP.sys hanging, etc, etc, etc

[Mich]

This is REAL long. Please bear with me.

OK, let me start from the beginning. I built this pc a couple of years ago. I haven't had the first problem in that time.

The specs,
AMD 2400
Volcano 9 fan
1 GB 2700 memory
5200 ti AGP video
Hauppauge DVR
80 GB hd
120 (slave) GB hd
MSI KT4 Ultra mobo
Window XP.

Now, last week I got a new game (Battlefield Vietnam) and started playing it quite a bit without any problems. One day the MSI hardware monitor (show voltages, temps, etc.) popped up showing a voltage below 3. I assume this is the +3.3V that was low - I really don't know anything about power. The next day the MSI hardware monitor popped up showing the same thing. I thought I should turn my PC off and give it a break. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see her.

After giving the PC a break I turned it back on. It got to the Windows XP splash screen and froze. I ctl-alt-del'ed it and it wouldn't even come back on. MSI supplies a bracket with their motherboard showing what stage of the bootup the PC is in. At this point it was freezing in the VGA initialization phase. I figured the game had fried my video card so I went and bought another one.

When I put the new one in the MSI bracket said the boot was freezing on CPU initialization. I figured my CPU was fried so I had it tested. It was fine. I thought my mobo had gone bad, so I replaced it. I replaced my power supply as well at that time (what the hell).

NOW, I would power up my PC, it would start the boot process, then just power off. It was real random too. It would power off after a second. It would power off after a few minutes, but it WOULD power off.

This morning I'm not having power off issues (????), but the OS will not load. It boots to the splash screen then I get a split second bsod (way to fast to read) and it reboots. When I try to boot into safe mode, it reboots after MUP.sys.

One last thing, the PC will power off if I just barely budge the fan. I haven't fastened the fan back down after the mobo replacement, but it is sitting on the CPU. If I move it a millimeter the PC will shut down.

I know this is real long. Please help a fellow PC guru restore his pc ego.

 

[BadBigBen]

First off all, mostlikely your old PSU was dying and needed replacement...

secondly, XP doesn't like new Hardware, so you need to reinstall Windows!!!!

thirdly and most importantly - clamp that HS Fan down, this is needed for cooling the CPU, you got lucky that the new CPU's and Mobo's of today have a shutdown circuitry to prevent overheating of the CPU, thus preventing DAMAGE to said components... also if HS-Fan doesn't come with a heatpad (usually a black alufoil underneath the HS) then use HS Compound like Arctic Silver or similiar, to better disipate the HEAT coming from the CPU...

Ben

 

[Mich]

I'm right there with you!!!

I broke a cardinal sin of PC troubleshooting. I made more than one change at a time. I replaced the mobo and the power supply at the same time. I bet all I needed was the power supply. I'm going to put all of my old equipment back in the case with the new power supply. Hopefully this will fix the XP issue.

I'll let you know.

 

[Mich]

OK, I put everything back in it's original state except for the power supply. Now when I boot up my PC hangs at 'Checking NVRAM'.

Any ideas?

 

[BadBigBen]

Clear the CMOS first... this ensures that the PC is at a fresh state...

Try it with just one stick of mem, GFX-Card, CPU and HS, no drives at this point...

if it goes through POST, then you can add one piece of Hardware at a time...

Ben

 

[Mich]

I should have posted a follow up.

I did pretty much what you said and found out I had my cable select hard drives backwards. Once I put them in the right order everything worked fine.

Thanks.