[NTLUG:Discuss] !@#$%^ hardware

[Mike Hart]

Have you checked the power supply is rated for all the new hardware you're throwing at it?   CPU 'won't boot' + hard drive fails intermittently are symptoms of an overloaded power supply, and could be the underlying problem of both your hard drive crash and CPU issues. Try booting with everything but the screen unplugged to test this (meaning internal drives, mouse keyboard etc all unplugged from the pwr supply or motherboard).  if you get a reliable POST screen with all peripherals unplugged, this indicates you either need to be more selective about peripherals (do you really need a floppy drive this time?) or a more powerful supply unit. 

Newer gear consumes more power most of the time.  Power supplies (very very) slowly lose their capability from rating over time.