KenB

Hi again Sorry J-B I seem to have hijacked this thread :) Your m/board will have SATA connections on it. The physical size of a compatible hard drive will be 3.5 inches ( as opposed to 2.5 inches for a laptop ). HDDs now tend to run at 7200 r/m. So any 3.5 inch SATA Drive will fit. Not as much as RAM and Video Card but if you have a slower drive ( 5400 r/m for instance ) data will be moved around more slowly. If the old hard drive is SATA then there is no problem. You would need to do a Repair Install as explained. If your drive is IDE ( broad grey cable ) and you m/board has no IDE connection ( I have not checked ) you can get an adapter. See here: http://www.usbnow.co.uk/Adapters_&_Connectors-SATA_to_IDE_Adapters/c42_45/p1763/SATA_-_IDE_Bi-Directional_Adapter/product_info.html EDIT: One more thing: If you are using a SATA drive and are installing XP you will need a SATA driver as this is not emdedded in the XP software. Without a floppy drive this is awkward. (Another reason to go for Win7 )

There are a few issues from your last post. The main one: This is illegal. One disk - one installation. HDD = Hard Disk Drive It doesn't look like the box comes with one. XP is a bit ancient now and support for it will stop completely in a couple of years. The system will then become more vulnerable. Win7 is the way forward - especially if you are spending £300 on hardware. 4GB RAM If you install a 32Bit system this is the maximum that the OS will recognise. The motherboard may support more BUT the OS needs to "see" it too. If you are thinking of getting this case with the intention of adding to it over time then I would suggest Win7 64 Bit. You could then double the RAM ( and more ) and the OS will have no trouble seeing it. I am not a gamer but I doubt that sluggish games are down to the OS. It is more likely a combination of lack of RAM and Video Card. Just one more thing: If you are thinking of taking a HDD out of another system and putting it in the new case - it will not boot up. Windows is "clever" enough to recognise a different environment ( especially a different motherboard ) and refuses to boot. XP installation disk can be used to do a Repair Installation to correct this particular problem - but as already stated ......Win7 ( if you can afford it ) is the way to go.

You probably are aware of this but I will say it anyway :) There is no HDD with this - so you would need to take this into account. You would also need a Operating System. This is going to add another £100+ to your bill. Radeon HD 5450 1GB According to this review - the 5450 is an entry level card and is not particularly suited to gaming. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5450,2549.html If you want to compare other cards see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

Hi again If it was ok until updates were installed try System Restore. Start > type in .....system restore .....hit ENTER Select a date when you know the system was working OK. Also: Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_pro Click the Products tab - you want the free version Install > Update > Run it. It will produce a log. Copy this and post it here.

Hi Jim I have had a look at the site and I can see nothing like what you explain. No box - no request for security code. Do you have to be logged in to see this? It sounds like a site software problem. If they have recently updated the Version Software this could be a resultant problem. Only they would know. Download SR IRON (browser) http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_download.php If you get an advertising pop-up close it with the X top right. Try this. It is not a commonly used one.

Hi and welcome to ExTS Did you buy this from a reputable source? Did you get any sort of warranty with it? Have you contacted the seller and explained your problems ? To answer some of your questions: Your machine should boot up in far less than 3 minutes. I am using an old Vista machine that is clogged full and that boots up in less than half this time. Obviously there shouldn't be any problems - what are the error messages? One more question: Was this machine performing OK when you first got it ?

When you downloaded Comodo are you sure that the AV box wasn't ticked? Apparently Comodo will install an AV as well as the Firewall if it isn't blanked out. You could have 2 AVs onyour system without knowing it. Also: Rapport. I have been speaking with Starbuck ( Admin / Security Expert ) regarding "Rapport". Neither he nor I use it. I cannot repeat what he said about it - but you can gather that it wasn't very complimentary. I would revove this. There is absolutely no need for it if you have an AV and Firewall. They say it does not conflict but there are many cases where it has been proved that it does. I suggest you remove this. Get back to me re. AVs What is on your system?

It looks clear to me too. I will ask one of our security experts to confirm.

Hi and welcome to ExTS

I can see J-B having something to say on the way this thread is going ..........and it will not be pleasant. http://planetsmilies.net/angry-smiley-184.gif

Hi again Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_pro Click on "Products" - you want the free version. Install > Update > Run It will produce a log when the scan is complete. Post this here. If there is anything showing in the log one of our experts will advise you further. You DO have an AV on your system ? 2 AVs will conflict and cause problems.

Hi and welcome to ExTS I split your post from the other thread ( you are better with your own :) ) Start > type in ......devmgmt.msc .......ENTER Click the + next to batteries What is listed ? Are there any yellow exclamation marks / Red Xs

You are very welcome. Happy that it worked for you :)

Hi, This could be a built-in feature. When the CPU is idle it is clocked down to 2Ghz. It is there to conserve power and reduce heat production. It is called "Demand Based Switching" Do you have "speedstep" as a BIOS feature - and is it enabled? If so - try disabling it. This should switch off DBS If your CPU goes back to "Normal" I suggest enabling speedstep again. I think your CPU is probably performing normally

Hi I removed my post re. "New Thread" - must be old age catching up on me :) Good to hear that you have solved your problem. If you need to - one of our security experts could take a look at your system to make sure that there are no other malware problems lurking. Just post in the Malware Removal forum and provide a link back to this thread.

The 2TB would seem to be the problem. When you resume a computer from sleep or from hibernation, the SATA hard disk drivers require the SATA hard disks to be ready within 10 seconds. With large drives like this the resume process often times out. There is a hot fix available. See here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977178/#top Suggest that you create a Restore Point before installing. Start ....type in ....system restore .......ENTER Follow the on-screen directions. Name the restore point something like pre-hotfix to remind you what it was for.

Hi Chris and welcome to ExTS This would seem to be the normal Win7 information screen following an "unexpected shutdown" The system gathers whatever information it can and writes it to a mini-dump file located here: C:\Windows\Minidump\100511-12729-01.dmp This also shows the date for reference if there are a number of files. Mini-dump information can sometimes help diagnose the cause of the problem. Can you boot up your system now? If not ... Will it boot up in Safe Mode or using "Last Known Good Configuration" ? Switch on and constantly tap F8 about once per second. You will see a list of Advanced Startup Options. Is this a laptop or desktop machine ?

If you can swap the Video Card this will confirm if it has died or not. Yes - an anti-static band draped into your pint wouldn't do your street cred any good :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS Is this on-board video ( not a card ? ) What motherboard do you have? I have had a quick look and cannot find the system specs. I assume that it has at least one PCIe x16 slot. Any PCIe Video Card will fit. Take a look here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html Keep in mind - If you are upgrading the video card you may need to upgrade the Power Supply Unit too. It depends on the choice of card and which PSU you have at the moment.

Things are not looking good. My caddy works fine - so I doubt it is the adapter. If the system is not seeing the drive there is very little we can do. One last possibilty..... ( this will sound a bit strange :) ) take the drive out of the caddy. Put it in a sealable plastic bag ( freezer bag ) Make sure you expell all of the air. Put the drive in the freezer over night. try it again.

Hi, Yes - they are usually backwards compatible. Before you spend your hard-earned .. Could you try your "problem" card in another machine - a friend's possibly ?

Hi and welcome to ExTS Your secondary drive - is it internal attached to the m/board or external USB ?

Hi and welcome to ExTS 1. You should be getting screen graphics. 2. Your system shoukld not be shutting down when you connect the 8 way power connection to the m/board. This does look like a m/board problem AND it could be that it was delivered to you with a fault. Try this before you return it. Switch off at the wall - leave the plug in to maintain the earth ( ground ) to the m/board Take ALL cards etc off the m/board. ( RAM / Video / Sound etc ) Disconnect any external hardware. Disconnect the hard drive and DVD drive ( both power and data cables ) Leave only the 24 way ATX connection. Switch on. You should get POST beeps if the case speaker is connected. Please confirm that you do. Now connect the 8 pin PSU connector to the m/board. Does the system shut down ? If it does then this connection would seem to be causing a short. The problem could be the m/board or possibly the PSU. Get back to me with the results please.

Your original diagnosis ( problem Video Card ) looks favourite to me. This could have caused the initial overheating and damaged the card. Do you have another card / onboard graphics that you could try out ?

You are welcome - good to hear that our system seems to be OK now. I will mark this up as Solved. If you need to - just add to this thread :)