[jello_mania]

Hey there-
I'm having some trouble booting my computer, so I want to ask the experts (you guys). I have an Abit BW-7 motherboard and a Pentium 4 1.5 478-pin processor with 384 mgs of sdram. Recently, I installed a dvd burner, and in the process of encoding a .avi movie file to burn on a dvd, the computer froze so I shut it down. But now it won't boot up anymore, not even to the bios. I have checked all my peripherals and they all seem to be fine, yet it still won't boot. I have cleared my cmos multiple times, but still nothing. I thought my board was shot, so I replaced it with a new one, same model and everything, yet I get the same POST error as i did with the old board on the led indicator on the board message talking about video card power and whatnot. Do you think maybe my power supply is shot, even though my computer will still turn on and make fans spin? I have tried all my peripherals in another computer, so the only things that could be wrong is my power supply or processor (I have inspected my chip, there appears to be no burnout), and I don't want to run out and spend the money for either one until I have a good idea of what is wrong. Already wasted money buying a new board.
PS: I have a 350 w power supply, not sufficient enough to encode a video file or burn a dvd? What voltage should i have? I really need your help here, thanks so much in advance!! Please respond!! ~Tyson Zitzow

 

[merlin]

Hi Tyson, whats up ?
Im not sure if you did this already or not, but here is my suggestion :
Try unplugging all of the components and leaving only what is needed for the PC to run : hard drive, memory, video card. This way you will eliminate some components to troubleshoot, and if you get an error then , its easier to pinpoint what the problem is. 350 W should be ok for what you are trying to do. How old is your power supply ? They do tend to degrade over long periods of time and need to be replaced. If you really want to get deep into troubleshooting your power supply, you can get a generic multimeter and check if there is any major deviation in power on your +5V lines and such...

 

[jello_mania]

Thanks for the response! Yeah, I did try starting it up with the basic essentials, but I still get the same error. I have tried all my peripherals (except my power supply and processor) in a friend's computer and they all work just fine. My power supply is actually 300w, not 350 like I said earlier, and it is almost two years old. Thanks again for responding! ~Tyson