Computer Powers Down Automatically During Windows Install

[Andrew Johnston]

I just rebuilt my HTPC, replacing the motherboard and HD, and now
whenever I attempt to install Windows MCE after booting off the CD, the
power mysteriously cuts off in the middle of the process and the whole
system shuts down. Needless to say it's hugely annoying. I'm using an
MSI K8NGM@-FSI motherboard, Antec Aria case w/ 300-watt power supply,
Athlon 64 3200+ processor, Western Digital 320 GB SATA HD and a "brand
x" IDE DVD-ROM drive. BIOS settings seem to be what they should be. I
can't for the life of me figure out what the problem is, but I
hope/assume it's something simple. Any suggestions on how to start
troubleshooting?

 

[thesnowpig]

Does it cut out at a random time or at about the same time in the
process every time?
I've not seen this before, but it could give a clue as to if it was a
hardware or software glitch. Possibly a corrupt file in the install
routine?

 

[Pete H]

On a new setup I built a few years ago, the system would boot fine to floppy
but when installing windows, it would randomly crash and reboot. It turned
out the power supply was bad and when a combination of the hard drive, CD
rom, etc trying to pull power the supply didn't have the whole system shut
down and restarted. A new power supply solved the problem.

Your situation is a little different because you mention that your system
just shuts down where mine crashed and rebooted.

 

[Michael Hawes]

On a new setup I built a few years ago, the system would boot fine to
floppy but when installing windows, it would randomly crash and reboot.
It turned out the power supply was bad and when a combination of the hard
drive, CD rom, etc trying to pull power the supply didn't have the whole
system shut down and restarted. A new power supply solved the problem.

Your situation is a little different because you mention that your system
just shuts down where mine crashed and rebooted.

How old is the PSU? If more than 2 years old they get a bit feeble.
What video card?
Try and borrow a PSU to test it with.
Mike

 

[Rhaspun]

I just rebuilt my HTPC, replacing the motherboard and HD, and now
whenever I attempt to install Windows MCE after booting off the CD, the
power mysteriously cuts off in the middle of the process and the whole
system shuts down. Needless to say it's hugely annoying. I'm using an
MSI K8NGM@-FSI motherboard, Antec Aria case w/ 300-watt power supply,
Athlon 64 3200+ processor, Western Digital 320 GB SATA HD and a "brand
x" IDE DVD-ROM drive. BIOS settings seem to be what they should be. I
can't for the life of me figure out what the problem is, but I
hope/assume it's something simple. Any suggestions on how to start
troubleshooting?

That happened to me once a couple of years ago. My problem turned out
to be some bad ram. I couldn't figure out what was going on when I
noticed a lot of heat coming from the ram I had installed on the MB.
The ram was working fine earlier but apparently went bad on me.

 

[George Pontis]

(e-mail address removed)

If you have the PC plugged into a UPS that is also connected through a
serial port, try disconnecting the serial port communications cable.

--

 

[Harkhof]

I would disconnect all but the necessary devices and start from there. Pull
all PCI cards, floppy drives, additional HD & CD drives, etc. If you are
then able to finish the install, add devices back one at a time and watch
for issues. If the issue continues even after removing all non-essential
devices, run memtest on your RAM overnight and watch for errors. If no
errors & problem continues, try a new power supply, which may well be the
issue. Don't make the mistake of buying a cheap PS. If you happen to have an
extra PS, you may want to throw that in before removing any devices to see
if that resolves your issues.

Hark