PSU problem?

TheChef

TheChef

New Member
Let me start this off by saying I bought a 18 dollar PSU. I was short on cash and it seemed alright and had +12v@30A, but I think it may be the root of my problems.

My computer recently stopped booting correctly. It would get to the Windows XP boot screen, and then quickly flash a blue screen error, too fast to read it, and tthen restart. While I was in the middle of repairing Windows an error called machine_check_exception occurred.

Microsoft Support

It said that Overclocking, a bad PSU, or faulty memory was the cause of the error. I had my processor overclocked (running a little over the suggested voltage), but it's now back to normal and the temperature never got above 45.

I did it again and skipped the part in the repair which caused this error and finally repaired Windows successfully and got all the way to logging into my account, and then Windows crashes. It never is able to log in sucessfully.

I originally got memory errors but just replaced the memory sticks, so that rules memory errors out. Has my PSU decision finally come back to haunt me?
 
$18 PSU, wow that could very well be your problem. Try replacing it with a better one and see if that helps. Though booting problems could be caused by a multitude of things, a cheap PSU is a big no-no for higher-end PCs.
 
Hehe, and I even did it after I had been here long enough to realize that the PSU is critical. It fooled me with +12v@30A. So I'll save up yet again and see what happens.
 
I originally got memory errors but just replaced the memory sticks, so that rules memory errors out
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Assuming that the new sticks are perfectly fine .. however replacing the memory doesnt rule out the memory controller being a problem :)

Has my PSU decision finally come back to haunt me?
Click to expand...
Whats your voltage tolerance? At what temperature?

$18 PSU, wow that could very well be your problem
Click to expand...
A low price doesnt neccesarily mean a crappy PSU :)

It fooled me with +12v@30A
Click to expand...
Amperage is nice but not everything ... voltage tolerance is more important ... but then again most people dont have the tolerance to look for that obscure information that and manufactures dont always offer it
 
Alright, I replaced the PSU to the Aspire 500w found here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148001

yet am still getting a Machine_Check_Exception error when I boot sometimes. It occurrs probably 50 % of the the time, and flashes a screen so quickly that I had to use a digital camera to get waht it said. Now, assuming the new memory is fine, which I would think it is (I'll run MemTest again), do you think that the motherboard could be faulty, and as Praetor said, memory controllers?

This is what quickly flashes before t reboots:


And there are no memory errors.
 
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OK, so the way I've found to fix this is by clearing the CMOS using the jumper. I don't really feel like doing that every time I boot however...
 
I doubt very much its the RAM, that error message looks nothing like the many many I had when I had Corsair VS RAM.

When you O/Ced did you use a windows based program, or the BIOS?
 
The BIOS. I'm thinking of getting a $40 939 motherboard and seeing if that's the problem, and if it's not then I would assume the only other option would be the CPU. The MS support page said nothing about video cards.
 
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