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so after painstakingly changing around each part; hd, mobo, psu, graphics card,cpu , and even case, i have come to the conclusion that:

the mobo and the psu are shot. now they were working perfectly fine when i first installed it. now my theory is this: the power strip at my gf's house cannot provide enough voltage to keep up with the psu, therefore shorting it out and essentially messing up the psu and mobo. now heres the thing. with the mobo, i can still get to the bios settings using my psu. when i try and start windows up, it keeps resetting itself. i know for sure the hd is fine cuz i booted up with no prob using my setup. now for the psu, it will turn on and then off, maybe 2-3 secs in between, a little longer if it has been off for a while. that i know for sure is shot. but the question is why? i dont want to get the new parts in and hook it up at my gf's house only for this to happen again. so my question is, how can i avoid this happening again? plugging the computer in directly to the wall? is it possible the power strip she is using does not provide enough wattage to properly power that psu? and btw the psu is an Ultra x-connect 500w

How much did that psu cost?

it was 100 bucks but with 2 $50 rebates, so free ^_^

The psu might have killed the mobo. I have a feeling it was a cheap psu. You can't trust those things. Honestly, they are sort of dangerous. I've seen some psu's short out and almost catch fire. I repaired this one pc where the psu and it's power cable were melted together. All the area around it was black. I REALLY don't know how that didn't burn that place down.

Anyway, I would invest into a good brand of psu. Antec has been really good, I wish I could think of some more good brands. I used to know a few. You really wont' need more than 350 watts.

is it possible to "half-kill" the mobo? cuz like i said above, i can get to the bios settings but once i get to the boot screen, it resets. i suppose i can return the psu, i think lol. i only ordered it feb 21st, so i should get all the money back(actually my gf's mom's money) ill check around for a new PSU on newegg.. i love them

Oops, I meant processor, sorry.

I've actually half killed a mobo once. I tried putting in one of those Zip100 drives into a desktop case and got really pissed off at it because it wouldn't go in. So then I just jam it in. I found out that I tore a capacitor off of the mobo lol. I lost half of my IDE ports! hahaha

Usually you can't half kill a mobo. It usually fully dies. I have another word of advice, when you put on a heat sink for a processor with a screwdriver, dont' let it slip and hit the area around it on the mobo...

lol i didnt do that.. the processor works fine, i tried it in my computer. so it it possible that the mobo could be hald dead? lol

ohh and also, i was looking at psu's and all of them have "20+4 pin power connectors" now on my mobo, it only has space for 20 pins. how does that work?

Hmm. I guess... lol

Not much left!


You would hook it up to one side. I forget which though. You'd need to look at the connector, it should have a tab that hooks into it toward one side, and the other in the middle of it (2 hooks).

yup, thats why i pretty much narrowed it down to the mobo and the psu..

sorry for all the questions william, but like i said above, should i plug the computer in directly to the wall once i get the parts? is it possible the power strip she is using does not provide enough wattage to properly power a psu?