I have a 7 year old computer that I am trying to set up for my kids to use. All they do is play simple games on the internet. It had previously been randomly restarting. I reformatted it, installed windows XP, and a wireless card. The computer still restarts randomly. I unchecked the box to have windows restart after an error - still restarts, I ran memory tests on the RAM - everything checked out okay.
Everytime it restarted it would run a disk check. It kept coming up with errors in the hard disk. The hard disk would also be very noisy sometimes. I assumed this was the problem. I bought a new hard drive. Since this is an old computer I do not want to pour a lot of money into it. I just don't want to buy a new computer for my kids when this old one will do just fine.
I installed the new hard drive. I am currently trying to install windows XP. I can't even finish the installation because the computer keeps restarting.
Here are the computer's specifications:
AMD K-6 450mhz processor
256 MB SDRAM PC100
10 GIG Fireball 1CT IDE Drive (newly installed, bought used)
Windows XP
The computer does not seem to be overheating (temps in the BIOS looked normal). It also restarts so frequently that I don't think it would have a chance to overheat. I'm not sure what else to try. I believe that I have ruled out software problems, viruses, and spyware. I could replace the PSU, but I don't want to pour a lot of money into a lost cause.
Here is some additional information. Sometimes the computer goes for long periods of time without restarting. I could be doing anything when it restarts. It has a cd-rom and a floppy drive. Is the power supply the next thing to try? Are there certain indications when this fails?
If anyone can offer me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it!
Everytime it restarted it would run a disk check. It kept coming up with errors in the hard disk. The hard disk would also be very noisy sometimes. I assumed this was the problem. I bought a new hard drive. Since this is an old computer I do not want to pour a lot of money into it. I just don't want to buy a new computer for my kids when this old one will do just fine.
I installed the new hard drive. I am currently trying to install windows XP. I can't even finish the installation because the computer keeps restarting.
Here are the computer's specifications:
AMD K-6 450mhz processor
256 MB SDRAM PC100
10 GIG Fireball 1CT IDE Drive (newly installed, bought used)
Windows XP
The computer does not seem to be overheating (temps in the BIOS looked normal). It also restarts so frequently that I don't think it would have a chance to overheat. I'm not sure what else to try. I believe that I have ruled out software problems, viruses, and spyware. I could replace the PSU, but I don't want to pour a lot of money into a lost cause.
Here is some additional information. Sometimes the computer goes for long periods of time without restarting. I could be doing anything when it restarts. It has a cd-rom and a floppy drive. Is the power supply the next thing to try? Are there certain indications when this fails?
If anyone can offer me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it!