BIOS update problem

[KSochalski]

Originally my computer started to repeatedly restart its self when turned on. I brought it to best buy and they could get no output at all from the computer. they said it was probably a motherboard problem. I purchased a new motherboard, new ram, and a new CPU. i added those to my other items. right now i have the following

MOBO- ECS Elite Group P4M900T-M (intel pentium dual core compliant)
CPU- Intel pentium dual core
Ram- Kingston 2, 1 gig sticks of 667 ddr2 ram
Video- Nvidia Ge Force
Sound- Soundblaster Audigy
HD- Maxtor 200 Gig

The computer no longer just restarts repeatedly when turned on. It runs it POST, and the BIOS settings are adjustable and responsive. however when the computer hits the windows loading screen, the screen shows up, the bar at the bottom does not show any movement, it flashes a quick blue screen to fast to read, and then restarts.

this is what i have tried-

Memtest both sticks test fine.
HD test, tested fine.
built on table. no change
rebuilt and checked all connections again, no change
put in old cpu, (pentium 4) and it started doing the exact same thing it originally did. fast restarts. So it wasnt a motherboard problem i had it was the CPU. the old motherboard does not support the new pentium dual core chip i have.
I put the new chip back in and this secondary problem was still there, restarts only on windows load screen.
I am trying to update the BIOS because it is the only thing left i can think of.

Now the newest problem
I have a floppy of the new update from the manufacturers website. However when i put the floppy in and try to boot from it, it goes to the black screen with the blinking curser at the top like its trying to boot from it, then it passes over it and goes right to the screen that says "windows failed to load maybe be a recent hardware change or software change, blah blah" screen. Neither loading from last known good configuration, safe mode, or just normally restarting has any difference. they all do the same thing, and the computer restarts from the windows screen.

someone please help me. A. with the original problem of the restarting at the windows screen if you have any other options on what to try. OR B. how do i get the computer to accept the floppy and load the BIOS update. as far as i know, the floppy drive was working when the computer crapped out on me.

PLEASE HELP,
thank you
Kevin Sochalski

 

[Tmagic650]

Your power supply may have gone bad... The hard drives contents may have been corrupted by the power supply problem. Replace the power supply and reload Windows

 

[Tedster]

PSU is probably the culprit.
Read the NO POST guide and the updating BIOS guide in the guides forum.

 

[KSochalski]

interesting diagnosis. so run me through the events that might have caused this please, and the problem i am having now. the computer repeated restarted over and over and would not have any output at all. new mobo, ram, and cpu were installed and the computer then worked fine for the post and is fully functional in the bios set up pages and everything. the only problem is that windows wont load. when the old cpu was replaced it was definatly the original problem because it repeated the same repetative restarts. now with the new cpu in, i have formated the HD and reloaded windows. but the problem persists. Dont get me wrong, im not trying to argue, i appreciate your help, im just looking for clarity on why the PSU can be causing this problem. if it were the PSU would it not have random restarts, how can it pick out that exact moment windows tries to load for it to fail? and could it have caused my original cpu to fail? if yes, how so?

thank you for help
kevin

 

[Tmagic650]

Low or high power or loss of output on any of the output power supply voltages can cause many problems including random restarts and data corruption

 

[KSochalski]

so you mean that loading windows perhaps uses a certain amount of power, and running the POST and all that requires less voltage, but when it goes to load windows it requires more, and the PSU cant handle that anymore? did i miss interpret or is that what you are saying? anyone else maybe have a clearer explination as to why the PSU can be causing my problems before i go and invest in a new one? im an auto technician so by nature i diagnose problems, im not a parts changer, its hard for me to just throw parts at something and not understand why it would fix it. so i need a little more clarification
any other ideas, or inputs?

thanks
kevin

 

[KSochalski]

that seems helpful for testing those items. i have already checked the ram, and the hd. i have not checked the video card yet, i should do that. so what test can i run to check the PSU. and back to an earlier question, how could a bad PSU be causing this problem?

thank you
kevin