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System hangs when CD-ROMs are used

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340Duster

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Location
S. Carolina
Ok, the computer freezes completely when you try to use either of my CD-ROM drives. I have tried more than one cable and it does it with more than on OS. But it does not do it every time, but more intermitantly. Any ideas?
 
my guess: drive is dying. mine started behaving strangely before it died. The computer never completly locked up, but it would (intermitantly) hang for 10-15 seconds, and the drive itself would lock up.
 
But would one bad drive on a cable affect the other? Both drives will make the system hang. My guess was the power supply can't make enough power when the motors run as the drives trys to spool up.
 
How many watts does ut PSU pump out????

Ifs its 300-350 ur lower i would upgrade, but something i want to ask u.

When did this all start happening??? did u overclock ur CPU????? What version of Windows do u have????

Try changing the IDE cables...could be the fact they are damaged and is causing ur system to hang.
 
It's a 300w psu. And it didn't really happen untill I switched cases with more fans. The reason I think the 12v might be a prob. The problem just seemed to pop up out of the blue. I have tried more than 1 cable and the problem persists. I have win98se and win2000 pro on dual boot, and it will hang in either OS.
 
that would be weird if it was the PSU.... Unless he added TONS of new peripherials to draw extra power. See what im saying? Why would one day the PSU not be able to put out enough power. that doesn't make sence, unless a capisitor or something in the PSU blew or something like that.
 
Nitewolf, if his PSU was already holding on by a thread the extra fan's can make all the difference, A good fan can ask quite some watts

If you have a spare PSU lying around, I would try powering the CD-rom units with the extra PSU.
If the problem remains you can cross off the PSU as a problem.

If the problem remains you can disconect the secondary cd-rom drive from the cable and see what happens.

If the problem remains, set your secondary cd-rom drive as the primary and only connect that one.

just my two cents of advice
:cool:
 
Based on what's in your sig, It's your PSU. Might as well upgrade to 400w or more

Athlon 1600XP @ 1470Mhz--MSI K7T266 Pro
640Mb PC-2100 DDR, Samsung I think
ATI Radeon 7500 64 DDR @ 328/250
Samsung 40x12x40 CD-RW--16x DVD-ROM
 
You dont have to try another PSU just disconnect all of the fans that you have in your case and run it. If it is the fans then you shouldnt have a problem when you unplug them.
 
oops, it was late when i posted that. Didn't even notice that he switched to a new case w/ more fans.

i agree with trdsw20, unplug a few fans or your HD to free up some power.
 
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