I'd like a second opinion please (PSU related)

Well these are basicly my specs before i ask my question:

GIGABYTE GA-77OT-D3L motherboard;
AMD Athlon 3.01Gz Quad Core
2 Gig DDR3 RAM
GeForce 7900 GT. GPU
300 Watt PSU.

Now for the question...

"For about a week now, everytime i try to install Windows XP, it does the reboot thing then sticks at the
Loading operating system
Boot from CD
Press any key to boot from CD....."

Other than that everthing works fine, no errors or anything but the HDD and DVD drive seem to get a little hot...

Could a moderately high powered system running that wattage of PSU really cause the above problem? If so, how?

Basicly can an underpowered system cause Windows to refuse to continue its' install. I am planning to buy a 640Watt PSU tomorrow and a better GPU but i don't want to waste like £200 before i am certain that this is the problem. The only things that are out dated on my system is the PSU and the GPU. Ideally i intend to buy a new PSU, GPU and SATA HDD. But, as i said, i don't want to splash out £200+ when it may not even be the PSU, even though i'm 80% sure it is.

Sorry if you see this as a silly question but i appreciate your opinions

Thank you

 

What do you mean by 'normal'? Are you trying to reinstall XP on a working system?:confused Ya, 300W is wimpy especially if it came with case, I throw them out right away.

 

Yes i am but, as i said, i think the PSU is stopping it from finishing... I'm having to use a normal IDE hard drive at the moment, i usually use a SATA but i know the IDE works as i have tried it in my friends computer. Everything is setup correctly but it sticks at the "Press any key to boot from CD....." and i believe that irregular power to the hardware may be causing it.

Btw, AugieDoggie, i built the system myself but at the time i couldn't afford a better PSU so i had to use this one even though the shop advized me that i should get one.

 

Ya, 300W is iffy depending on brand and age but if it's working already without issues, I'd look elsewhere first. So 'you press any key' and then what happens?

 

It tries to re-install Windows. If i don't press it then it just hangs there until i reboot the machine :confused

Additional:

The GPU fan stopped working lonnnng ago and has often halted the install of Windows, often causing the system to shut down before it will let me carry on. Only way i can carry on is if i let it cool down (the GPU that is..)

 

I'd go get a new PSU/GPU for that well specced machine, no question about it. BTW, which card are you looking at as a quality 640W could be overkill though will work almost forever.

 

This is what i intend to get

GPU: 2GB NVIDIA GAINWARD GTS 450 PCI-E HDMI
(or) 1GB NVIDIA EVGA GTX460 SE PCX GDDR5 HDMI
PSU: 600W OCZ MODXSTREAM PRO POWER SUPPLY

Ideally i'd prefer to get a GeForce but the 2Gig seems tempting lol

 

See if you have an equivalent of the 460 but made by Gigabyte, that's almost heresy to me by saying that as I'm an eVGA man as you can still OC it more and it has a good temperature, runs cooler than my EVGA GTX 460.

Are you sure you want to go modular as that adds extra expense for the same functionality but is much neater if you have no place to stash all the unused cables in your case. You're good to go! Enjoy.

 

So anything else you could think of that i could try just in case it could be something else?

Thank you

 

Well, you can run Memtest86 to check your RAM, download the factory tool for your HDD to double check it but I doubt that's it as you switched them, the only other unknowns are the state of your CD/DVD drive and/or XP disc, does the disk start the installation process in your friend's PC? In any case, I'd go for the upgrade.

BTW, run OCCT after you upgrade overnight, this will run your machine at %100 load on everything at the same time to test your new components, trial by fire so to speak. I run it for 24 hrs. whenever I build a new machine and if something is going to fail then now would be the ideal time while the warranty is still valid.

Don't run OCCT now with a suspect PSU and known GPU issue as you don't want to fry your motherboard inadvertently with the PSU giving it's last gasp.

 

Well i'm actually on my friends computer, the disc works fine as i have installed it onto his computer until i can get mine sorted out. Like i said i can't even install Windows on my build so i guess i'll just upgrade. Frying my motherboard is the last thing i want lol.

 

Hehehe, let us know what happens.

 

Well if the headlines
"MAN BECOMES VICTIM OF BIZZARE PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE: Admited to mental hospital..."

Pops up in next weeks headlines then you know it didn't work lol.

 

Since you have your friends computer, if the PSU is compatible, switch them out.:innocent :-D











Just a joke as that's a serious amount of work not to mention pissing your friend off.

 

LOL fat chance! It can barely even play videos, it has a 64MB GPU in it and only like 512 RAM. It is FAR from powerful enough xD Probably only has a 230 WATT PSU in it.