PC gurus--got a question

A year ago I built my first rig. Over the past few weeks I started getting random crashes, so I defragged my drive (using System Mechanic's utility). That just made things worse. Noticing a 'click' whenever the HD started up, I thought the drive was failing, so I bought another, which seemed to fix things for a while, but soon enough the crashes started again.

I decided to reformat the drive(s) and reinstall Windows XP, and the system hung in the middle of installation. Finally, the power wouldn't turn on at all.

Just bought a new PSU, and am reinstalling XP as I type. My question is, is it likely that a faulty PSU could cause all the crashing and BSOD's?

PSUs are the "silent killers" of modern rigs. If not enough power
is pumped through the rig, then random "failures" will usually start
creeping up in the HDs first. Sometimes you'll see random BSoDs as
well for no apparent reason.

What brand is the new PSU that you purchased? I highly recommend
the Enermax series.
What are your computer components?

On edit:
http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/

http://www.directron.com/psu.html

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
512MB Crucial PC 2700
ATI Radeon 9700
Lite-on 48x RW CDR
Toshiba DVD-ROM drive
Western Digital WD800

Using onboard sound, ethernet and Firewire

The old power source was an Antec 430W. As I needed to get back up quickly, I went to CompUSA (in protest) and got another Antec 430. 430 should be plenty, right?

Uh oh. XP install hanging again. Maybe the whole thing is falling apart...:(

I'd be really surprised if the problem was the power supply.

I think one of the other posters may be right - it may be the motherboard, or at least the power connector on the motherboard.

Do you have your system overclocked at all?

also you might too many things running on a low powered PSU. Get one at least 350v.
You might also want to go into the bios and turn on the heat and voltage alarm - could be overheating for some reason.
good luck

the memory (RAM), you could certainly see crashes, etc.

For what it's worth...I've had nothing but good luck (fingers crossed) with SOYO motherboards and MAXTOR HD's.

If it turns out that the transformer is not your hang-up, that is.

if you didn't add anything recently them most likely is shouldnt be the PSU (not saying it isn't but I dont see why your psu would arbitrarily start pumping less juice or your components sucking up more juice).

That's assuming the alarms, which have been on, aren't blown as well.

I'm getting the sinking feeling that reprehensor, above, is right.

Do you have any sticks of memory around that you can test with?

In any case, if it's your motherboard then its not that large of a problem. I've always found configuring and reformatting to be less enjoyable than taking everything apart. Used to take me a while to build a computer but now I can crank them out.

the RAM may still let him boot but then cause all kinds of problems.

Costs $100, but is worth every penny.

Could be the mobo.

Could be a memory module gone out.

But a flaky power supply can more often than not be a culprit.

Avoid those under-$50 P.O.S. PSUs. Especially the higher wattage ones. Companies almost ALWAYS cut corners to cut costs. This means a lower quality product... one that, as Tom's Hardware Guide once proved, can lead to FIRES.

you are mismatching compoents alarmingly and spending money like mad in the process.