Replaced old power supply, now windows won't start [?]

formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
edited October 2006 in Hardware
Hi~ My power supply seemed to have died out the other day. Nothing would happen when I pressed the power button to my computer, so I figured that was what it was.

I went up to the local McComputer shop to get a new one. I installed it with no real problems, plugged everything back in, pressed the power button to my computer, and was happy to see that it turned on.

A few moments later I noticed a black screen with white text apologizing for the inconveience that windows could not start successfully. Mentioned how it could be from recent hardware or software changes. It gives me the option to try and start in "safe mode", "start normally", or start with "last known good configuration" All of which just causes the computer to restart and go back to this screen. I've tried going into system recovery and I get a blue screen saying it stopped so it would prevent damage to my system.

I restarted a few times and then the computer wouldnt do anything at all. The blue light indicating that the computer was in fact on turned brownish as if the computer was in sleep mode.

So.. erm. I don't know what to do ! I've been sitting here trying to get it going for a good three hours now. Now it is back at the "apologize for the inconvenience screen" but this time it froze up.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Frustrating, isn't it! Off the top of my head, the symptoms you describe could point to more than one problem. One, is that the original problem was not the power supply, and that the PSU (power supply unit) swap could not overcome the problem. The second is that the original PSU was indeed bad, but that the new PSU is not powerful enough for your system. Would you please tell us about your system so we can get a good idea of it's hardware configuration and its power needs. Please do the best you can:

    Computer Brand/Model:
    CPU (processor):
    Memory:
    Hard Drive(s):
    Optical Drives (CD/DVD):
    PSU, original, brand/model/power rating:
    PSU, new, brand/model/power rating:

    This could also be caused by heat buildup in the processor. Open the computer case and look at the fan on the motherboard towards the top left. Is it clogged with dust? If so, use a can of compressed air on a vacuum cleaner in reverse airflow to blow the dust and lint out. Does that fan spin?
  • formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
    edited October 2006
    Thank you for the prompt reply.

    My computer is a hp pravillion a430n with an amd athlon 2800. My original power supply was a 250 watt, the new one I installed today is a 300 watt.
    I no longer have the original power supply but the new one is SPI ATX300GT

    I checked the fans, there was a small amount of dust, but it wasn't "clogged with dust" oh and both fans are working
  • formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
    edited October 2006
    A friend of mine is telling me it is my video card because now when I turn the computer on I get this interesting green screen with jumbled text
  • formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
    edited October 2006
    Okay got a new error message...

    This time it is a blue screen. It says...

    "A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer

    IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

    If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

    Check to make sure any new hardware or sofware is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

    If problems continue, disable or removed any newly installed hardware or software. Disabled BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to removed or disabled components, restart your computer press f8 to select advanced startup options, then select safe mode.

    Technical information :

    *** STOP: OcOOOOOOA (0XFFE38018, 0x0000001c, 0x00000000, 0x804DcA34"


    I've tried restarting, that doesn't work, and it won't let me enter safe mode
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    A friend of mine is telling me it is my video card because now when I turn the computer on I get this interesting green screen with jumbled text
    That is indeed usually a symptom of a failing video card. Does your computer have a video card or just video chip integrated on the computer's motherboard?
  • formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
    edited October 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    That is indeed usually a symptom of a failing video card. Does your computer have a video card or just video chip integrated into the computer?


    it has a video card, that only happened once though. i finally got system recovery to work and it is doing it's thing now, has 4 minutes left. i'll post if that fixed me or not :D
  • formertalkshowhostformertalkshowhost
    edited October 2006
    Did system recovery... get a new error message now

    Says windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt :
    \WINDOWS\system32\config\SYSTEM

    You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM

    okay, well that is all well and good but I dont have a windows set up cd rom? i got my computer from best buy about a year and a half ago and it didnt come with anything like that
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