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Thread: K7S5A Problems. Lookee here! Woooo!

  1. #1
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    K7S5A Problems. Lookee here! Woooo!

    Hey-

    I just have some questions, comments and queries, please review--

    1) The packaging and the board itself are nice.
    2) I wish the manual was more thorough in it's explanations.


    3) When I first booted up I got:

    CMOS Battery Low
    CMOS Memory Wrong Size

    So, I go thru BIOS and set everything. Conservatively, I might add. The only prob I had was that the CPU mulitplier was stuck at 10.5.

    4) I reboot, everything's kosher-- AMD 1400 comes up, 512MB comes up, "Hit F1 for Setup", my HD, CD-RW and DVD come up and Windows98 tries to boot.
    5) Well, here's the problem, I forgot to delete the "Enum" key in Windows before switching, so Win98 crashes.
    6) But that's no big deal, I was thinking of getting another, bigger HD anyways. But I do try to power through some boots to if I can get into Windows and work it-- to no avail.

    Now the real problems begin.

    7) I flip on the computer. Nothing happens. Well, it keeps trying to reboot. The DVD and CD-RW lights are blinking and every 5 sec it tries to reboot. Next-

    I clear CMOS

    I put in Win98 floppy and CD, and try that.

    I disengage: USB mouse, joystick,
    CD-RW, DVD, floppy, HD,
    and ethernet cable

    I reattach: HD and floppy

    8) Finally, at this point the computer boots up- I don't let it get into Windows.


    So, now I am left with trying to figure out what is the problem.

    Issues:
    I had one of my CD's as a boot-up device.
    Could that have been a problem?

    I think one of my mounting screws may have been in contact with a optical drive. I removed it.
    Could that have been a problem?

    Or was one of the other peripherals causing the problem, like the ethernet cable connected to a cable modem?

    I know I am going to have problems with Windows, but I'd like some clues about why the mobo would not boot up. Not even the beep codes.

    Thanks, any help would be great-- especially if you've had similar or dis-similar experiences.




  2. #2
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    Hey man, I have this board and its a complete mess!!!!!! ECS needs to recall all K7S5A boards. Even the current BIOS flash doesnt solve my current problems that I am experiencing with it. The only thing I can tell you is to RMA the sucker and get an ABIT KG7 Lite/KG7-RAID. It is too late for me to do so, but you may still have that opportunity.

  3. #3
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    Hey I had a similar prob with an IWILL motherboard. I took almost everything out,then I tried reseating the RAM, and that fixed it.

  4. #4
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    I have had similar problems. Is it worth the trouble to have to mess with a motherboard? If you have to worry about things like that when it is brand new, think of what could happen later. I would rather go with a board that is stable from the beginning.
    (BTW, didn't sysopt do a review on this board praising its great qualities???)

  5. #5
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    Actually every review I read for this board had nothing but praise. The key reasons for this as I believe it are:

    -They used high quality power supplies
    --Otherwise sometimes it has trouble turning on

    -Windows was installed from a fresh install

    -Peripherals are are limited in number and also high quality

    Sorry, I've been working on powerpoint presentations the last three days.

    Anyhow, for me this board has been trouble free and reliable as anything, and for many others. I do have my bios flashed to the latest (unofficial) overclockers (haha) bios. Basic setup. Only one hdd on the primary ide, another one and a CD drive on the secondary ide. Floppy, video card, and I'm using an add in NIC simply because I didn't have any anti static bags to store it in after I upgraded. Also, I too initially tried to do the windows thing but it was so messed up I finally just deleted C:\Windows and started from scratch. I got the CMOS battery low/memory wrong size the first time I turned on the computer and twice on two seperate occations when I was overclocking and screwed things up. It seems to go to this by default to some kind of safe, slow mode (my processor will run at 500mhz instead of 1000) until you reenter the BIOS setup.

    Another person who was having trouble with it also reseated their heatsink and everything was just peachy. Just what I've heard, but for the price I got it at, I think it's fantastic.

  6. #6
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    radio1_mike,

    3) is perfectly normal. ECS boards ship with the battery jumper set to "Clear" to save battery life. On first poweron, you get that error since the RTC/CMOS device remembers past battery failures.

    7) 8) Those miracles are usually caused by the AGP card. The standard AGP connector mechanically just plain sucks, and you certainly aren't the first to experience those weird things. Making sure the AGP card seats PERFECTLY right is the first thing I do when a computer that was previously working now does nothing.

    sam,

    Yes, many of those no-jumpers mainboards include a boot fail counter. After a handful of POST failures, they zap the CMOS storage to eradicate the settings that cause the failure

    On CMOS battery failure or checksum error then, the common strategy is to fire up with fail-safe settings and prompt the user to either load defaults or enter setup and adjust things manually. Fail-Safe mode means everything as slow as possible, no extra features enabled, all hardware error detection disabled, so that the thing at least fires up to said prompt. K7S5A can go down to 66 MHz CPU bus, that's why you get 500 from your Athlon 1000/133 then.

    regards, Peter

  7. #7
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    try replace memory, or reinsert agp card,
    it should work, Ecs M/B online review is/are
    very good, don't be upset, that is the fun part on DIY. GOOD LUCK

  8. #8
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    I may have solved it already, since I did re-seat my video card.

    But with all that happened yesterday, I did not get around to adding my other drives and such back on.


  9. #9
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    I may have solved it already, since I did re-seat my video card.

    But with all that happened yesterday, I did not get around to adding my other drives and such back on.

    Hopefully within the next day or two, I'll start up again, and it will be up and running.

    Any other suggestions?

  10. #10
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    my experience with board was/is outstanding; and contrary to Sam's advice I had no problems whatsoever with using an existing WindowsMe install as the starting point. (not that this is recommended - just to point out its not always problemmatic)

  11. #11
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    quote-----------
    " Now the real problems begin.

    7) I flip on the computer. Nothing happens. Well, it keeps trying to reboot. The DVD and CD-RW lights are blinking and every 5 sec it tries to reboot. "

    Mine does the same thing, I removed the DDR and put in SDRAM and it booted fine, for a week.
    Then again, no boot.
    I DID try re-seating the DDR first, go dice.

    Now, after re-installing the DDR it booted again, for a few days, then it puked again.

    Reinstall some SDRAM and it ran, for a few days, now it won't boot again.

    I will not reccomend this board until at least I figure out what's happening.

    DrVette

  12. #12
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    Amen to that

  13. #13
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    Well, I have Crucial memory PC2100. So, eben if it's the memory I'm covered there.

    I may be able to play with everything tonight. If I can, I'll keep everyone updated.

  14. #14
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    This board is making me angry.

    Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

    Ugh.

  15. #15
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    K7S5A

    I built a new system up two weeks ago with a K7S5A and 1.4, all went very well. Had to manual load the audio driver. It has been running great, I am pleased and the price can't be beat.

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