ECS K7S5A will not post. I am going mad!!! Please help!

[AnyMal]

First I want to say that I read all previous posts regarding this board and suggested fixes but nothing has worked for me so far.
Here is my setup:

ECSK7S5A
XP 1600
2 X 512MB PC133
GF3 Ti200
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM
10/100 Realtek NIC
C-Media 4.1 sound
350 W PSU

What I have tried so far:

1. Switched DIMM's, tried one at a time. Finally took both out and tried a stick of 128MB PC100
2. Reseated video card several times.
3. Took out both NIC and sound card
4. Switched PSU to a known good 300W PSU
5. Shorted CMOS jumpers numerous times as well as removed CMOS battery

The best I was able to achieve was when the board sort of "posted", e.g I got a video signal, it identified my video card, made one beep, identified my CPU as Athlon 700MHz, counted NVRAM and froze. This happened only twice out of about a hundred attempts when I get absolutely nothing, not even a video signal.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Pavel

 

[Viperoni]

Test the CPU and then try to get the mobo tested.

 

[Buz2b]

Well, we gotta start somewhere, so let's give it a shot. Did you get any beeps (error codes) when you tried to boot? You seemed to have eliminated the RAM, by trying the PC100 stick. Until you get it to boot, I would stick with that one for now and leave out the other two 512 MB sticks if possible. For the immediate future, I would also leave out any and all PCI cards (NIC, modem, etc). Just go with the very basics; vid card, the stick of PC100, the CPU with HSF and the floppy drive. I would also use the 350 watt PS if possible for now until things are "fixed".
It sounds like you are not getting any video for the most part. Is that correct? Exactly what happens when you try to boot? Do the fans, etc seem to start but no video shows on the screen? Or does nothing at all happen when you hit the power switch?
Also, have you tried taking the MB out of the case and putting it on either the anti-static foam that it came with or on a solid flat surface with the anti-static bag under it? If you haven't done this yet, you should do so now. You can still hook up the power switch to the board or if it won't reach, you can just short the pins with a flat blade screwdriver for a second to start it. Try to boot with just the basics and the board out of the case.
Get back to us on these and we can go from there. Trust me, there are a good many folks here that are familiar with that board. If it will boot, the chances are that we can figure it out. If not, we'll get to that point also. Hang in there.

 

[AnyMal]

How would I test the mobo? I have no spare CPU on hand.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: Buz2b
Well, we gotta start somewhere, so let's give it a shot. Did you get any beeps (error codes) when you tried to boot? You seemed to have eliminated the RAM, by trying the PC100 stick. Until you get it to boot, I would stick with that one for now and leave out the other two 512 MB sticks if possible. For the immediate future, I would also leave out any and all PCI cards (NIC, modem, etc). Just go with the very basics; vid card, the stick of PC100, the CPU with HSF and the floppy drive. I would also use the 350 watt PS if possible for now until things are "fixed".
It sounds like you are not getting any video for the most part. Is that correct? Exactly what happens when you try to boot? Do the fans, etc seem to start but no video shows on the screen? Or does nothing at all happen when you hit the power switch?
Also, have you tried taking the MB out of the case and putting it on either the anti-static foam that it came with or on a solid flat surface with the anti-static bag under it? If you haven't done this yet, you should do so now. You can still hook up the power switch to the board or if it won't reach, you can just short the pins with a flat blade screwdriver for a second to start it. Try to boot with just the basics and the board out of the case.
Get back to us on these and we can go from there. Trust me, there are a good many folks here that are familiar with that board. If it will boot, the chances are that we can figure it out. If not, we'll get to that point also. Hang in there.

Thank you for such extensive reply. As you suggested, I have taken all PCI cards out and just left the basics in. When I power it all the fans and drives are spinning but thats about it. I get no beeps, no video signal. As I described above I did get it to "post" twice, first time with original memory configuration (2x512mb pc133) and second time with a single stick of 128 mb pc100. In both cases I erceived a single short beep as you would with a good post, but then it would ID my CPU as Athlon 700 and would freeze at NVRAM count. I am almost embarassed to admit that I am A+ certified tech with almost 10 years experience as I havn't been this baffled in quite some time, LOL I guess we all have to go through these moments sometimes. Having read previous posts I've noticed that few folks complained about the AGP slot being extra "tight", so I took out and reseated the video card several times. BTW this is a known good card that I have used for the past 6 months or so. I have not tried to disassemble it and run it outside, but I will give it a shot in the morning when I get home. I also just got off the phone with a friend of mine who will lend me a known good 1GHZ Athlon to test with; my XP1600 is brand new from Newegg so it may be the culprit. The original PSU I tried is 350w, but it is also brand new, so I did try a known good 300W PSU but the results were similar.

I am almost embarassed to admit that I am A+ certified tech with almost 10 years experience as I havn't been this baffled in quite some time, LOL I guess we all have to go through these moments sometimes.

Again, thank you for all suggestion, I will give it another try in the morning when I get home from work.

Pavel

 

[Buz2b]

I am almost embarassed to admit that I am A+ certified tech with almost 10 years experience as I havn't been this baffled in quite some time, LOL I guess we all have to go through these moments sometimes

Not to worry. There are more that won't, or don't "own up" to being certified and having problems than we know about. The simple fact is that this is something new. Period. This MB in particular is a bit "finicky" at times but is otherwise an excellent board. If I hadn't bought one at the first release and had the "experience", I would be as lost as you.
Anyway, yes, give it a try outside the case. Barring that I think it an excellent idea to try another CPU, as you mentioned. I would not place all your "marbles on the video card yet either. Any chance that you can get hold of a cheapo PCI card to test? You'd be amazed at how many times this has worked. Also, can you look on the board and check for the revision number? In addition, check to see if there are some small "stickers" around the CPU socket with "XP" on them. LMK and good luck!

 

[Kazuo]

Well, first chance you get, flash the BIOS. I know that the board had massive timing issues with SDRAM with the early BIOSes, so if you could borrow some DDR, maybe you'll have better luck?
Dunno why it shows up as a 700MHz Athlon... maybe the clock is screwed up and it's running at a 66MHz bus

 

[Buz2b]

Well, first chance you get, flash the BIOS

That would be a good idea.....if he could get into the BIOS. Problem is, he can't right now. Hopefully he can follow your advice when he can get there.

 

[UnTech]

I have an ECSk7s5a with an XP 1600 and GF3 Ti200 and it would not post until I put a 400 watt power supply in. I also have an Abit Kr7 with an XP 1800 and it has no problem with a 350 watt PSU. My ECS seems picky and power hungry.

 

[RanDum72]

You may have a bad board. With the K7S5A, you either get one that starts off perfectly and remain that way or you get one that has niggling problems that stays with the board. As long as all the basics have been checked out (memory, PSU, just video card with nothing else), there is no other thing to check but the mobo. The CPU shouldn't be a problem unless the BIOS is really old (unlikely) or the CPU is shot (also unlikely).
What brand 350w PSU do you have? Its likely that a lower quality PSu can't provide enough juice for the system to start. But still, I have a hunch its the mobo. I had three K7S5A's that started out OK but just died and they acted similarly to yours. It turned out the AGP ports were shot.

 

[AnyMal]

Dunno why it shows up as a 700MHz Athlon... maybe the clock is screwed up and it's running at a 66MHz bus

That's what I thought initially and figured if I replace PC133 with PC100 I would be able to post and get into bios to chenage the bus speed. But.. no such luck. Anyhow, I will try two more things this morning, replace a CPU and reassemble the system outside of the case. If that doesn't work, it's RMA to Newegg.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Definitely try booting out of the case before RMA'ing it, I put one in a Enlight case with the metal stand offs and it refused to boot so I took it out and put the brass stand offs in and it ran perfect. Good luck and post back what the outcome is.

 

[Kazuo]

The problem, really, is this: There shouldn't *be* a 66MHz setting on that board. So if it's trying to run the CPU at a 66MHz bus, something isn't right.
I'd suggest you borrow as many good parts as possible- DDR RAM, a HUGE power supply, and maybe another video card (preferably an ATi one, just to shake things up), and then if you can get into a position to flash the BIOS, flash it. Hopefully then you can put in your stuff again and it'll work.
I agree, trying it outside the case is a fair idea. Good luck!

 

[AkumaX]

hehe, alright, i have 'taken' the problems off Anymal's hands and decided to take a chance w/ this mobo.

specs upon 1st boot:

duron 700mhz
128mb pc133 crucial
geforce gts-v
generic 300w psu
nec floppy

booted up fine!! since the floppy worked, i decided to flash it to the latest cheepoman bios. sucess!

installed an 80gb maxtor
installed winxp w/o a hitch

started surfin the internet, then all of a sudden, a random reboot?

i think okie... damn amd, then after going into xp boot screen, another reboot!
so then i go into bios, and then screen freezes. have no choice but to turn it off.
tried turning it back on, no boot
went through this process of turning it off and on, and sometimes i get it to boot, but it would just random reboot anyway within a few/several seconds. haha! time for new mobo

anyone know what the chipset mod is? heatsink was a lil warm...
and another thing, i was checkin out vcore in bios hardware monitor, it was jumpin around from 1.75 to 1.9v!

 

[Buz2b]

generic 300w psu

From first looks and reaction, I'd say that this would be the source of your trouble; at least initially. Hopefully it didn't fry your CPU with the Vcore jumping around like that.
The chipset "mod" they were talking about usually involves one of two items/techniques: Removing and installing a new chipset heatsink with a fan or just adding a chipset fan to the existing heatsink.

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: Buz2b

generic 300w psu

From first looks and reaction, I'd say that this would be the source of your trouble; at least initially. Hopefully it didn't fry your CPU with the Vcore jumping around like that.
The chipset "mod" they were talking about usually involves one of two items/techniques: Removing and installing a new chipset heatsink with a fan or just adding a chipset fan to the existing heatsink.

Agree with the Buzzman, go out and buy a new PS, if it works then you know what the problem is, if not continue trouble shooting.
When the K7S5A first came out I ditched my antec 300w and went and got a 400w antec.

 

[AkumaX]

haha whoops, ended up being a 350w raidmax

also, i just got a 2nd k7s5a, seemed to work, but when i flashed to the lastest o/c cheepo bios, the consistent rebooting problems are occuring, even on the 2nd board!

 

[SigEp502]

I have this board and have done the chipset mod as well as flashed to the newest bios (released 10/28). I am adamantly against flashing to the cheepoman bios because it is based on a beta bios that ECS never intended the public to have. This is not an overclocker's board and the only thing the cheepoman bios is good for is pushing the fsb beyond 133/133. This board has serious issues with asynchronous cpu/ram timings so be sure you're running at either 100/100 or 133/133.

The chipset mod involves removing the heatsink from the SiS chipset (it is held on with double-sided tape). Then put thermal compound on the chipset while leaving the four corners dry. Put a drop of superglue on each of the corners and reapply the heatsink. This solves some random reboot issues for people and seemed to help me. The double-sided tape is a horrible heat transfer material and might actually insulate this chip.

One last thing is that this mobo reports the temperature about 10C under actual temperature. My mobo would lock up consistently when temp was reported at 58C. This should be a stable temp even if it is higher than any of us would like. After the chipset mod, better cooling (I installed a blowhole on the top of my case and put a Volcano 9 with Arctic Silver 3) I have not had any problems with this board. My temps are 40C idle/44C load with a 2000+.

 

[Oakenfold]

haha whoops, ended up being a 350w raidmax

Is that one of the SVC specials?
I bought the same PS from them, it would not power a K7S5A on my brother in law's machine.
However I did get it to boot with his old 300W antec(how long it would last with 2 HD's and 2 CDRW plus 3 or 4 add in cards who knows), I solved the problem by giving him my 400W antec as an early Christmas gift and went out and bought a 550W antec with a P4 connector for my new P rig.