Power supply too weak?

[LancerZero]

Thanks for the input . . . how's this for weird? No PCI cards, and it still won't detect my optical drives! I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked the IDE cables to make sure they were snug, and still, nothing. With just the wireless card, it doesn't seem to matter which slot it's in - same problem. I also tried just putting in the sound card, trying it by itself in each of the three PCI slots. You guessed it, same problem.

Another oddity, though, is that the computer will only detect the wireless card if it's in the top slot, and will only detect the sound card (though it won't work) if it's in the bottom slot. When I switched my wired 10/100 ethernet card to another slot, the comp had no trouble detecting it. And though Windows detects the optical drives, it says the driver is missing or damaged. The BIOS has no trouble detecting them.

Could it be that the PSU is providing enough power to get the drives detected, but not enough for them to work? And is Antec a decent brand of PSU?

 

[Apokalipse]

I'd say you need to replace your ATAPI.SYS

 

[LancerZero]

Update: I've taken out the 10/100 card, the 5.1 sound card, and unplugged the power for the CD-RW drive. I uninstalled and reloaded the DVD driver, and it works fine now. But I still get the funky graphics at startup sometimes. Guess I'll have to live with it until I can afford a new PSU.

 

[LancerZero]

Okay, I bought an Antec 350W PSU and the problem got worse. It took me over a dozen startup attempts before it finally worked.

 

[Nitestick]

thats strange

 

[vaderpro]

your video card is seated properly right? maybe reinsert it.

 

[LancerZero]

I tried that - even vacuumed out the AGP slot to be sure there was no dust interference. It doesn't seem to have such a problem on a cold boot, though (like, after it's been off awhile). I wonder if it might be a heat problem?

 

[vaderpro]

you have the latest drivers right?

 

[EricB]

I thinking that maybe the video card damaged the mobo when it was acting up

 

[LancerZero]

Windows Update says I have the latest drivers, and I've used Windows for long enough to know that actually means "I'd better check."

The only thing is, how could either of those problems result in there being problems primarily when it restarts, but only when it restarts? Once the comp starts up right, there's no problems - even if it's on for a few days. But if it's messed up, it doesn't get better 'till I restart.

oy! I hope it didn't screw up my mobo.