Very odd behaviour

[Mark_H]

The first problem. Very unstable system. It switches OFF itself and
reboots. This is happening after a few minutes of use. Sometimes it
reboot OK without any messages, but sometimes it goes into scandisk
and reports that some files had to be repaired ( this may be due to
the fact that some file very used when it shutdown ). Automatic
reboots happened so often that the computer is unusable.
The second problem. I cannot start the computer with the switch on
front panel. The power is there, CPU fan spins, AGP card diodes light
up, CD-Rom blinks, but start-up sequence does not follow ( no light on
floppy nor HDD ). The only way I can start the machine , is by Reset
switch on front panel. Everything is connected properly. Triple
checked. Could it be PSU ?
I have recently build a machine for my daughter using some new and old
components. I think it is the worse you can do. But, anyway. I
assembled :
new Syntax SV266A ( VIA KT266A and VT8235 chipset )
new Athlon 2200+
old Leadtek WinFast 32MB AGP ( x 4 ) graphic card
old SDRAM 133MHz 3.3V ( 2 modules x 128MB = 256MB )
old Fujitsu 4.1Gb ATA 100 drive connect with 80m pin cable on primary
IDE
old Samsung x 48 MAX CD-Rom drive connected on secondary IDE
old case PSU 300W.
The jumper on the board is set into 133 MHz so the CPU and memory are
running at this speed.
Installed Win XP Pro with SP1.
Updated the BIOS with the latest available from Syntax.usa.com .

My personal comments are:
First problem. It could be related to CPU not happy with old SDRAM
133MHz or vice verse.
Old HDD to slow for the other components ?
The new MoBo is faulty.

Second problem. No idea.

Any suggestions on both ? Please share your knowledge.
Mark

 

[Steve]

Hi Mark
Not sure if you have had any replys yet, I have experienced
similar problem on my machine and two friends. The problem
was the video card. The fan on the video card died and this
caused the chip on the card to cook itself. Check if the fan
is working and also if the card around the area of the video
chip is extremely hot. The fact you have said you used an old
card strongly leads me to think this is your problem.

 

[Mark_H]

Thanks for your suggestions, Steve.
The card is "old", it means it came off my older machine, not from a
shop, but it used to work OK. I have checked it again, the fan works
OK and there is no sign of overheating.It must something else.