Vista was loaded on the machine originally and it now hangs at the startup screen. Upon trying to reinstall vista, windows XP and ubuntu from known working CDs, the installation process ends at random times as the computer just shuts down. I believe the power supply is bad, along with possibly some other hardware issues. I was wondering if there was a diagnostic software package that didn't rely on an OS to run. I.e. you just burn it and it tests everything to determine any hardware failures. Any ideas? thanks in advance-

There is no all in one diagnostic program that I know of. Failing power supplies are common and can cause your symptoms. Check your PS. See response 4 in this: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... .... Check your hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostics. See the latter part of response 1 in this: http://www.computing.net/windows95/... If you don't have a floppy drive, you can get a CD image diagnostic utility from most hard drive manufacturer's web sites, but obviously you would need to make a burned CD, preferably a CD-R for best compatibilty, on another computer if you need to. ..... Contrary to popular belief, it is extremely RARE for ram that was working fine to go bad spontaneosly. If you are having a ram problem, it's almost always because it has a poor connection, or you are using ram that is incompatible with the mboard. .... A common thing that can happen with ram, even ram that worked fine previously, is the ram has, or has developed, a poor connection in it's slot(s). This usually happens a long time after the ram was installed, but it can happen with new ram, or after moving the computer case from one place to another, and I've had even new modules that needed to have their contacts cleaned. See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules, and making sure the modules are properly seated: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... For a laptop, you must remove both its main battery and AC adapter before you do that. If you do a ram test, do that AFTER having tried cleaning the contacts and making sure the ram is seated properly - otherwise any errors found may be FALSE. If the ram is incompatible with the chipset, it will likely FAIL a ram test - that is NOT a true indication of the ram being faulty - there is probably nothing wrong with it, and it will pass the test if installed in a mboard it is compatible with. ...... Trying ram that works in another mboard will not necessarily work in your mboard. Ram that works in another mboard , or any ram you buy or have lying around, may not work properly, or sometimes, not at all - even if it physically fits and is the right overall type (e.g. SDram, DDR, DDR2, etc.; PCxxxx, xxx mhz) for your mboard. In the worst cases of incompatibilty your mboard WILL NOT BOOT with it installed, and the mboard may not even beep - the ram has to be compatible with the mboard and it's chipset. See response 5 in this for some info about ram compatibilty, and some places where you can find out what will work in your mboard for sure: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... Correction to that: Mushkin www.mushkin.com Once you know which module ID strings work in your mboard, you can get them from anywhere you like that has ram with those ID strings. ...... You should not get ANY errors reading from a CD or DVD while running Windows Setup from a manufacturer's CD or DVD. If you do, several things could be wrong. Some devices that cause device resource conflicts will cause Windows Setup to reboot the computer for no apparent reason before Setup has reached " Setup will reboot in xx seconds" or similar at the end of that stage, while it is detecting hardware. In that case, try unplugging all devices externally plugged in and cards in slots that are not essential for Setup, and try Setup again. (always remove the AC power to the case while doing so). Network adapter cards, dial-up modem cards, video cards, usb mice, usb keyboards, PS/2 mice or keyboards are unlikely to cause this problem. E.g. a friend's Intel D850MV mboard requires a Creative Audigy card be removed while running Setup.

In addition to Tubesandwires suggestions, search on google for the Ultimate Boot CD. If you have CD burning software, you can run it by booting from the CD. Make sure your BIOS is set to boot from CD first.

There are tons of pc diagnostic suites. Some are free. Ideas to consider. Start with power down. AC plug out, ESD strap. and reseat all removable devices. Set bios to fail safe or default settings. Before you change check the shutdown temp settings. They could be too low. Use ubuntu's memtest for an hour or so. Might have to monitor the bios temps with software or though bios. Remove all but the most basic components and try the live cd. Test power supply voltages as you re-add in devices. I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you peanut.