ECS, K7S5A error msg: CMOS wrong setting, Low Batt, wrong mem etc..

[DanDrop]

I went to fry's and bought 2 ECS K7S5A with 2 AMD xp1800. I tested BOTH mobo using the following:

-antec 400wpsu
-no name 250w psu
-pny 128 DDR 2100 (samsung)
-nec pc100 sdram
-256mb kbyte sdram 133
-lite on dvd rom
-ibm 20 gig HD
-floppy drive
-matrox MGA
-gainward geforce3 ti200

I built the computer but it gives me the errors:
-CMOS wrong setting
-CMOS Low Battery
-Keyboard Error
-Wron memory settings>

The computer boots up, counts the memory installed, i can hear the hard drive spinning then proceeds to the errors and would NOT let me get in the bios settings.

WTF is this? I tried to boot using only the floppy or dvd drive only, or the HD Only.. same errors
-reseated video card... same thing
-reset CMOS... same
-switch video card.. same
-switch to diff power supply..same
-used diff memory.. same

It is odd that both boards would show the same symptoms. When i got them from fry's, it looked like the boards were returned because the seals were broken on the static bag and the cd that came with it were scratched. They were definitely used. However i have no prior experience with ECS boards and i was wondering if you guys could help me out.

Has anyone encountered this and what are the solutions? Are these bad (defective) boards? I just built an MSI based rig and everything worked out of the package.

Thanks and hope to hear suggestions from y'all.

 

[Buz2b]

Could well be the "infamous" ECS bad battery problem. They had a problem (which I thought was over, oops!) with sending out boards with a crappy CMOS battery. Try replacing one of them and see what it does. I just built one yesterday (not finished) and it did the same thing on the initial boot, however it started fine on the reboot. Take a look at your keyboard connection also; that would stop the process. Maybe in the wrong plug? Easy to switch the mouse and Keyboard connectors.

EDIT:Also just took a look at your configurations again and one thing stands out like a sore thumb; your Power Supply. A "No Name 250 watt" PS is rarely successful with this board. You need a good quality PS, preferably a minimum of 300 watt or better. Fry's usually has the 300 watt Sparkle PS for a good price. That is the one I use when building with this board if I am looking to save a few bucks for someone. It is a good quality PS for the money. And, just in case (and I'm sure you aren't but....) do not use both DDR and SDRAM together on the same board. You can use either one but not both.

 

[Peter]

New ECS boards always ship with the "CMOS clear" jumper on Clear, to save battery life. You need to put that back to "Normal", else you get exactly the symptoms you describe.

Boards that lose once good CMOS contents may have a weak battery (have a look in BIOS "Hardware monitor" page), or the system might be on a power supply unit with not enough standby juice - 2 amps required here.

regards, Peter

 

[Buz2b]

Thanks for the reminder Peter, I forgot about the CMOS jumper in the wrong position. The one I'm building (with and for a nephew) did not come with the CMOS jumper in the wrong position but I checked it in the beginning just in case.

 

[stevewm]

Out of the 8 K7S5a systems 4 had the Clear CMOS jumper set and ALL of them gave out those error messages on boot until I went into the BIOS and Saved the settings.

In fact most motherboards I've setup will give various CMOS errors on first boot. Going into the BIOS and saving the settings always fixes it.

Most boards ship with the CMOS memory area (place where BIOS settings are saved) empty (blank). When the board boots it sees no defined settings stored and sets everything to the pre-programmed default settings. Until you go into the BIOS and save the settings (and thus saving them to the CMOS memory area) it will do this everytime you boot up.

 

[DanDrop]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the replies. I am STILL having the same problem. Here's wha i tried to do:

-replace CMOS batt - same error
-used ANTEC400w -same error
-CMOS jumper in correct setting - same error
-replaced keyboard, plugged in correct port - same error
-used SDRAM only-same
-used DDR only -same

I get this BEEP(pause)........BEEP BEEP (pause)......BEEP.

I can't get into the BIOS because it wont recognize my keyboard. On boot up, the keyboard lights flash, but seems to go dead afterCMOS errors. Hitting the DEL key or the any function key, or any keys for that matter wont let me in the setup.

Help...!

 

[Peter]

Well on first powerup, getting these messages is perfectly normal. You'd then enter Setup, load optimal settings, do your adjustments, save, exit, and never see that message again until the battery dies.

Now if you can't use your keyboard, something's broken. Check the Keyboard Power-On jumper on the board, try another keyboard. With two boards showing the same symptoms, it's rather unlikely they're both toast. Also inspect your keyboard for a stuck key.

regards, Peter

 

[DanDrop]

Yehey, I finally got it to work! The problem was that a pin on the keboard connector was bent and was not seated properly. After fixing that snag, i was able to get into the bios settings and configured it accordingly. It seems like the mobo is working properly, i will put it through a burn test all night to check for temp and voltage. Thanks a lot you guys! you are grrrrrreaaattt!