Fixing up an old POS.

[Bithmus]

Hey all,

I just got a really old system from my parents because it would lock up and restart, things like that.
That part was easy to fix. Derby Tech, the local computer building people, had upgraded it when my dad wanted. In the end it was a P2 300mhz, WIN95, DVD, CD_RW, 2 HDs, and 1 Disk Drive all running on a generic 200watt PSU. I just threw in my PSU from my recently built but now broken computer, http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthre...095#post118095 .

Now it still has all sorts of problems, sometime it won't boot up, once it just reset, and the DVD drive won't let CDs in. It opens, and the CD gets halfway in, but then something pushes it out.

Anyways, i don't really care about that stuff at the moment. What I do want to do is upgrade to WIN2000, format one of the drives and start over. But I can't get the dang thing to register the CD drive in DOS when I shut down to DOS. And I can't get it to boot from any boot disk. I've tried every kind of boot disk possible. WIN95, WIN98, WIN2K, WINXP, it says non-system disk error. The computer reads disks fine in Windows. Any ideas on how to format and re-install?

Thanks

[Mr. C]

Hi homey!
I was born in Urbana, raised in Mansfield.

Are you sure that the floppy drive is good?
Is the BIOS set up properly to boot from A:?
Have you tried the disks at http://www.bootdisk.com/original.html ?
What exactly is that power supply anyway? I seem to have missed that in the other thread somehow.

Say, is there any chance you are getting some power fluctuations at the outlet? perhaps a power filter or UPS might help if that is the case.
Seems you've had some awful luck lately, maybe that could explain the problems with both systems?

[Bithmus]

The floppy drive reads in windows.
I think i set it right to read from A:, guess I'll have to try again with those other boot disks.
The PSU is a Enermax 430W EG465P-VE(FCA) Whisper.

Power fluctuations? I'd have to say yes. I live in a 78 year old Fraternity House. When my space heater or fridge goes on, my lights dim. I also share my circuit with the neighboring room.
What kind of thing should I look into to take care of the Power?

[Mr. C]

Oh man:eek:
Those power fluctuations are murder on the sensitive insides of a PC. Sounds like a rough situation by your description. No way to tell if the PC is acting up or not with any degree of certainty under those conditions.

You sir, sound like a prime candidate for an Uninterruptible Power Supply -- or UPS for short.
It's basically a battery pack between the outlet and the PC. It contains circuitry to ensure that the device plugged into it will recieve a constant level of power. Even if the power should fail you would have ample time to save your work and shut-down properly. (be sure your monitor is hooked to the UPS too, as that makes saving a good deal easier)

I live in a rural area, and my UPS is a system saver. Nothing is harder on a PC than those "brown-outs".

They are a bit spendy, but they were all the rage in California last year:laugh: