ok here's the deal.....

Trying to load any OS on a machine, it is a:

ASUS A7V MB
1Ghz Thunderbird Athlon
768MB PC133 RAM
Any AGP video card (i tried 3)
Any Harddrive (i tried 4)

so here is the problem, on install it gets part way thru just the base CD boot install programs then craps out and freezes. I tried installing windows, freebsd, suse, and redhat. All do the same. Thought it might be either the MB,processor,memory,video card or harddrive.

I swapped out the drives and video cards and memory and went as far as swapping out to an ABIT BH6 MB and a 366Mhz processor. No luck. I then swapped the CDROM drive and ribbon cables. Still happens. I have used this case and power supply forever on the ABIT board with every OS.

Then I take the same harddrive, cdrom, ribbon cable and memory stick, throw it in a different case with a BX6 ABIT and intel p3 450, boop, it works.

what the hell......anyone? thoughts?

about to lose my mind.....

weak power supply

i'll shoot myself. lemme go see I have another one a bit more powerful i think.

nope thats not it......the one i was using is a 250W i just tried a 300W and a 400W. same deal.......

Well, that leaves only the bios settings on the asus board as the culprit, everything else checks out ok...take fine toothed comb to the bios.

come to think of it...

Since it's an athlon and since things break down over a bit of time, I'll throw out the prospect of *shock, horror*, improper heat-sink/fan installation?

actually it gets exactly 48% thru the install loader on suse, 50% thru the install loader on redhat, dies on harddrive write for installer on freebsd and 50% thru format of drive on windows xp.

I would say maybe overheating but does it on ABIT motherboard with an intel p3 450 too so that aint it.

plus 2 different bios, same problem. I swear I have swapped every single part except for replacing me I dunno what else to do. Pissin me off.

b4 you jump on drives, yes they are good.

i know, bizarre....gremlins?

I think you've been a bit too hasty in clearing your power supply as the cause of the problem. Just because you've tried a 400W model, doesn't mean it's up to the task. Read here for more info:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ies#post323816

Your symptoms are classic power supply problems. Before you go chasing other causes, put in a good quality power supply to see if it makes any difference. The reason it works with an Intel processor and won't with an AMD is because the AMD apparently puts a greater load on the 12V rail than the Intel.

you are missing that it is doing it also with the abit + intel board. It had worked in the past on the abit + intel but now doesn't. And I tried 2 other power supplies of which I know the 400W one is a very good power supply, it is the one I use on my high end game system. As I said I have replaced every item that can be. this is why it is so bizarre.....i am at a loss

ok geoff i read your other thread.....now my curiosity is getting the best of me....running off to check the power supplies

What brand was that 400W power supply? What is the max current that the 400W power supply can provide on the +12V rail? It should be printed on a sticker on the side of the power supply case.

yeah i just went around to the 2 powersupplies that I can see, one is a turbolink the other a l&c technology. pretty crappy stats, outputs are 12v @10a and 3.3V@14a on one and 12v@9a and 3.3@10a on the other. I cant get to my gamer one cuase it's on the machine I am using right now.

looks like i will be off to buy a new PS today....

ok this sux, i just took a look at the psu i use for the p4 and it blows too. I got ripped off i think. I ordered it from color case w/ an upgraded psu, get this:

3.3v_16a
5v_30a
12v_11a

<= is not a happy camper.

thanks for the info and advice......will be out getting a new psu today.

You could try Antec, or one of the other 'quality' brands. The expense is worth it; they really do provide more punch for your dollar, and they're not just trying to rip you off. Real grunt in a power supply costs money, it's as simple as that (unfortunately). And it's just not the actual specified current (ie, whether 16, 18, or 22 Amps, say) that matters; the quality supply will be able to keep the voltage steady under varying loads, such as happens when drives turn off and on all the time. If a hard disk and a CD-ROM drive both turn on at the same time that the CPU is drawing lots from the +12V rail, then the poor quality supplies have a momentary dip in the voltage, which puts the CPU into never-never land. It happens too quick for a meter to show it, so if you try to measure it, it looks like a steady voltage, but it really isn't. Good luck with your shopping.

ok so I went to the local puter parts supplier and picked up 2 new PSU's. Think these specs will work? Both are made by Antec.

First for the P4 machine,

550Watt
+3.3V____32A
+5V_____40A
+12V_____24A

and for the AMD Athlon box,

330Watt
+3.3V___28A
+5V____30A
+12V____17A


Hope these will cut it

letcha know tonight when i get home....

welp that was a waste of $200. Couldnt get that damn asus to boot past usual spot.......F(*^(D*WSYHJKD<MF!!