is it possible that a new component like a cdrom or floppy could cause my system problems?
i just bought a new asus a7s333 motherboard, a new cdrw drive and a new floppy and new case with 350w psu -
motherboard is set to jumperless but not sure what settings to use for my processor - amd 2000+xp - it is set at default which is 1300 so shouldnt cause a problem there should it?
it has booted up a couple of times but then restarts system over and over again - so i put old motherboard back in and left all over stuff in there - now system is shutting down on me and doing nothing after so i swapped psu's over from old system - still same problem - so now i am back on old pc and scratching my head!! which brings me back to original question - could it be the cdrw drive or floppy drive thats pissing my system off?
also anyone know multiplier settings for an amd 2000+xp (1666mhz)

thank in advance

easier with no multiplier, what did you use for slave and master drives?

no slave drives, wd40gig master hard drive - that cdrom drive secondary master - is that what you mean?

If I were you I'd move the FSB setting up to give you you 1666MHz.

I had problem once with an ASUS A7A266 Mainboard, not the same as yours I know but a similar problem.

The Default settings for the mainboard do indeed underclock you CPU which seems on the surface to be the more stable option.

The system I had locked up, went to BSOD or rebooted as yours is doing.

I also used Default, Jumperfree settings, Memory Timing by SDP etc, in other words, nothing out of the ordinary and everything set to Safe.


In the end I discovered that by using a 200FSB instead of the 266FSB required for the XP CPU, the memory timings had changed to CAS2 instead of CAS3.

This was quite puzzling as the memory was still set by SDP (the RAM chip itself dictates the speed).


Go into BIOS and DISABLE power on Self Test for the memory and reboot.
When I did this one of the memory sticks failed.

The failed one was a generic 128Mb PC133 SDRAM stick, the other one fitted, a Crucial 256Mb PC133 SDRAM stick was fine.

Another example of why it pays to get decent memory instead of el-cheapo stuff.

The original 128Mb stick was working fine in another system so I know it was good when it went in.

After replacing the RAM and moving the FSB to 266 I had no further
problems.



EDIT

I just read your post properly :) and see you've got your original mainboard back in.
From my comments above I'd check you memory stick/s

if my memory had been damaged, would the signs of this be what i am experiencing then? i am using 2 x 256 ddr

try 1 256 ddr at 1 time.
go here http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/troubleshoot.html

Duff memory can cause all sorts of problems, not always that obvious. As I explained, the problem I had before was similar to yours and for tha sake of making a quick change to BIOS, its worth looking at. You dont really NEED to pull each stick in turn although this is the most foolproof method (assuming at least ONE of them is still good)
.
Just make the change in BIOS to Disable Quick Power On Self Test and reboot.

Let the system go through it memory check (may take a while but you will see it counting up on screen). If it passes, then you can pretty much eliminate the RAM.

If your PC is simply shutting down it may be worth checking the CPU Temp, again in BIOS and make sure its not overheating. It could be shutting the system down to protect itself. Did you fit a defent, approved cooler?

Its not likley the Floppy or CDROM could cause system instability like you're having, I would discount these for a while.

There is a million things to check when you have these sort of problems, but you have to take them one step at a time.

Only If I Knew

memory check passes ok, cpu temp when i checked in bios was only about 36ºc - i left it on this screen for a bit to see if it would go up higher but it never, and it restarted while i was looking at it too -
on my old motherboard that is back in the case, when the pc shuts itself down, sometimes but not always, the screen goes off and stays off and the cdrom and hard drive light just stay on and i have to press reset button several times to get it to start up properly - power button does not work at all - only other way to turn pc off is to take power lead out of back!!!!
if this only happened on my new motherboard i could say it was that that was causing the problem but now the problem has transferred itself back to old motherboard which used to run fine i am confused
the only difference now to the old system i used to run fine is different cdrom and floppy drive but i tried booting up the pc without them attached at all and still got problem which leaves me with either the hard drive or the memory - both which used to run perfectly!!

36 is low for a CPU Temp, it sounds more like a mainboard temp.

My XP1700 runs at about 50 and my mainboard at about 30.

If it started from cold though it could be right.


Its good that you discovered the problem occurs even in BIOS as you have now eliminated the Software, OS etc problems.

When you installed your new mainboard did you check the little securing posts were all in the right place in your case??
Not all mainboards have the same fittings, one of those in the wrong place could have shorted your mainboard or caused a short on your PSU.

If you can get into BIOS for any length of time, go into the Hardware Monitoring page and loot at the Fan Speeds, Temperatures and Voltage levels. It tells you what they're supposed to be.

As a comparison, my mainboard (also ASUS)

12v = 12.585

5v = 4.945

3.3v = 3.312

vCore = 1.792


Check you haven't got any protection settings to shut down the PC if any values are outside of set tolerance.


I'm still inclined towards the memory though, did you pull each stick in turn as hothi suggested??

definatly not the problem you mention about the securing posts of the motherboard - been bitten once by that before!! - i am really struggling now to get the ASUS motherboard to run for any length of time - however i have noticed that the RAID sockets that should be on the motherboard are missing which is kinda bizzare so i have got in touch with ebuyer for a replacement - if i still have the problems with a new board then its definatly head scratching time!
pulled both memory sticks - which i do kinda suspect - and tried them one at a time but no joy - i have ordered some new memory as well but will be very reluctant to use it on this motherboard as it appears to have damaged the memory i have - as i said earlier, my older motherboard, which worked fine before this, now has similar problems however it takes my older motherboard quite a while to restart!!

i am also gonna take my old memory into work tomorrow and get one of the guys i work with to test it in his pc


the temperature was pretty much at start up which would probably explain that reading