hi there,

this is more like a general hardware question.

my computer:

MB: P4S8X
CPU: P4 2.5
GC: Ati Radeon 9700 non-pro latest drivers ( catalyst 4.1 )
SC: Creative Sound Blaster live 2 player
Speakers: Creative Inspire 6.1
Ram: 512
HD: Ibm Deskstar 120gbx 80gb
Power Source: 350W

this problem happen on my both OS's Windows XP and RedHat 9 on separated partitions.

1: sometimes both OS's dont recognise the sound card. its just like it isnt there. in linux whenever i try to play a dvd the sound cames out from the speakers like "bumps" (sorry the wrong expression, but im not that good in english ).

2: in the last couple of months the power source makes sometimes a very strange large sound like a motor bike (but not as loud).

3: the hard drive makes a loud cute sound, that it didnt make at the beguining.

4: MB and CPU are allways about 50º of temperature (celcius).

the entire computer has about a year now, so it is rather new, but are all these problems due to the power source? i mean, maybe if i buy a new one with more power (say 450w or somethin), would it solve the problems?

thanks in advance.

PS: sorry the bad english.

What is the brand-name and model of your power-supply?

Switch off the PC and clean the powersupply (just from the outside) with a strong vacuum-cleaner/hoover. It may be quite dusty inside. It may well be that it's fan is on the way out, which may cause PSU-overheating and definitely a lot of noise.
If that does not help, replace your PSU with a 400-450W from either Enermax or Antec.

If you can reach the fan-blades on any fans inside the PC, clean those up at the same time.

Start thinking about a backup-strategy for your HD and look around for a new HD. Before you do that, read this post, go to IBM and download their HD-test utilities.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7602

thanks a lot for the reply.

ill try that, and came back if i need extra help.

once again thanks.