PC power cuts out while installing Windows--any idea why?

[andrewjnyc]

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 K8NGM2-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 ang 1GB of Corsai Value Select RAM. 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?

 

[guidzilla]

I'm not overly familiar with your exact setup but it would seem like it is a PSU issue, maybe a voltage problem? If you have a multimeter you could verify whether or not the current is steady and where its supposed to be. I'm sure their are more capable power guru's here that may have other ideas.

 

[PurdueRy]

I would format the hard drive if you haven't

 

[Bozo Galora]

a 300W pow sup that came with the case????!!!!!!

 

[Larrymon2000]

Firstly, a format of the HDD
Second, try using another PSU.

 

[stevty2889]

The Antec Aria is a small form factor case, a normal sized PSU won't fit. I am using the 300w PSU in the Aria to power my Pentium-M 1.6 @2.4ghz, a 6600GT with no trouble.

Double check to make sure all the power connections are attached(like the 4 pin 12v ATX connector). Open up the lid, to make sure the CPU fan is spinning, and give it some breathing room to make sure it's not overheating. Try disabling extra devices in the bios, such as the onboard sound, disable the smart card readers attached to the case, just to see if that helps.

Worst case, try taking the motherboard out of the case to see if it will work that way(any loose screw or standoff out of place could cause a short to the motherboard, which could be causing it to shut off), it would be easy for that to happen since it's a small cramped case.

 

[Larrymon2000]

Well, it looks like trying to write to the hard drive is causing it to crash. Something wrong with the rail?