KenB

Hi, Was XP installed on the "old PC" and you just transfered the hard drive into the new casing and booted up?

Hi and welcome to ExTS Take a look here - see if it helps any http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/737-20869HowtoInstallanATIRadeonGraphicsCardinaSystemwithOnboardVideo.aspx

Hi Found this review here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/02/09/radeon-hd-5450-review/1 There is not a great deal of difference between the HD5450 and HD 4550. You need to note that if you are considering the 5450 the red heatsink adds width to the card and it will need 2 slots width on the motherboard. The review also suggests that the added expense of the 1GB as opposed to the 512MB will not give a performace that warrants spending the extra. This card is not designed for gaming. It looks to be a decent card for the money. This card is not designed for gaming.

Hi, I have re-opened the Thread and merged your most recent post so that there is continuity :) I don't know why this thread was closed - I was waiting for a reply. Not really - only by reviews as far as I know. I will get back to you re comparing Cards.

Hi and welcome to ExTS Which Operating System do you have on the pc ? What format was the certificate in when you tried to print it? PDF ? Do you have Adobe Reader on your pc ?

Hi and welcome to ExTS I don't use Win7 - I hope this is correct. Click the Start button. On the right side of the box that appears should be "Recent Items" If the files are there you can point the curser at them and the location should appear.

You don't say what the wattage of your PSU is. ( probably 300W ? ) As I said earleir - most Video Cards require more than this. Suggest you google " Video Card 300w psu" Be aware of the date of the articles / posts you find. I don't think you are going to find much.

Hi Bugsy, Interesting - and not a solution that immediately comes to mind. One way to test it out .... Take the video card out and switch on. You will get POST beeps - but if it doesn't shut down then you have located the problem. You will need to try this a good few times as you say that it is OK at the moment. ALso - if you have on-board graphics ( you may have 2 similar connections at the back of the machine for your monitor ) Try the on-board connection instead of the Video Card one. ================= Regarding choice of card: Take a look here.... http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964.html The 5570 is top of the list :) Note: Most Video Card upgrades will require a new PSU if yours is less that 400W - it does, however, depend on your choice of card. ================= GPU = Graphics Processing Unit

Hi again, The STOP errors you give me can be caused by hardware / drivers / system files / virus - not much help I am afraid. You may have to do this from Safe Mode You said earlier that it "Dumps Memory". Start > type in .......minidump Click on the minidump folder ( top left of screen ) You will probably have a number of files in the folder > select the most recent. Can you copy this and post it here please ? ===================== Also.... Start > type in .......msconfig.......ENTER Click on "Startup" tab Make a note of what is checked / ticked Uncheck everything > OK Restart in Normal Mode. Note: Most of what was checked is not needed. The only things that do need to be checked is your firewall ( if it is listed there ) and your AntiVirus. Once you have tried the system with all unchecked you can go back and check the options you want to run. If the system runs OK with all unchecked one of the startup options is obviously the cause. ================ Start > type in .......devmgmt.msc .....ENTER Click the + next to each of the devices listed. Are there any yellow exclamation marks ?

I would still like to see the STOP error. Try this: Start ....type in .....system ......DO NOT press ENTER You will get a list of about 4 options ( top left of screen ) Click on the one that says ONLY "system" Then click on "Advanced System Settings" In the Startup and Recovery box click on "Settings" Uncheck "Automatically Restart" > OK This should give you the Blue Screen and the STOP error instead of restarting.

Any chance of a screen shot of the pop-up. It would help a lot.

I am still waiting for you to post the STOP error from the Blue Screen. If anybody else wants to jump in please feel free.

I am assuming that you have not installed the relevant SATA drivers when trying to install XP ? When installing XP onto a SATA hard drive you will need to install the SATA drivers early in the installation. XP does not come pre-loaded with the drivers needed to run the SATA drive. During the install process you should see this: Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver The installation is expecting a floppy disk at this point that contains the drivers. If you don't have one ... How to install SATA drivers without a floppy drive... http://paparadit.blogspot.com/2007/06/installing-sata-hard-drive-with-windows.html

Hi and welcome to ExTS This sounds like a hardware problem. When you put the new hard drive in and installed Vista ( before the updates ) can you boot up normally ? Is the system stable before updating ? Do you get any STOP messages ( Blue Screens ) ?

You are welcome :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS You may be interested in this article: http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-sabertooth-990fx-review/ It states quite categorically that the m/board is backwards compatible with AM3 processors. Hope this helps :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free You want the free version. Download > Install > Update > Run If the scan shows up any malware please post the log here.

Thanks for the log. It is not showing any malware. Start in Safe Mode. ( assuming unstable in normal mode? ) Once booted ... Start ....in the run box type .....cmd .... ( DO NOT PRESS ENTER ) Where "CMD" shows top left - right click on this and click on "Run as Administrator" At the command prompt type in .. sfc /scannow Note - there is a space after sfc. The scan will take some time to complete. You may need the Vista Installation Disk - ( I suspect that you will not have this ) Run the scan anyway. If you are still having problems can you post the error message that you get when it Blue-Screens. Assume that this is a STOP error ?

Hi, Start up in Safe Mode with Networking. Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free You want the free version. Install > Update > Run If it finds anything post the log here. Note: This is not an AntiVirus tool it locates Malware.

Hi and welcome to ExTS We have all done that :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS Something is wrong - it should not be freezing. I suspect the RAM Motherboard specs here: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8P67_PRO/#specifications How many modules do you have ? If 2 try them one at a time.

Hi and welcome to ExTS Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free You want the free version. Install > Update > Run If it finds anything post the log here.

What don't you understand?

Hi and welcome to ExTS You may be interested in this review: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/graphics-cards/355276/ati-radeon-hd-5450 It says "no good for gaming". "In fact, the only area where it fails to impress is in the latest games. It motored through our Low-quality Crysis test at 57fps, but a score of 17fps in our Medium-quality test, run at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024, puts paid to any serious gaming prospects." I am not a gamer - but I do think that you are going to have to invest a little more cash if you are going to be happy with the results when gaming. Just as an added extra... Depending upon which video card you opt for you may need to upgrade your PSU. It really depends on what you have installed at the moment and the specific card you go for.

You are welcome. I am sure you will be more than happy with Open Office.