ecs k7s5a = problem

[edeos]

SYSTEM:
ecs k7s5a
1.2 athlon
512 mb crucial ddr
60 gig caviar
16 x dvd
nvidia geforce gts 32 mb
300 watt power
enlight case


I'm struggling through my first pc and am getting a few problems:

(1) When I boot for the first time, I get an error message. "CMOS Battery Low, Cmos memory wrong. Press blah to continue." The mobo is brand new so I don't know why the battery would be low.
(2) The mobo will autodetect the floppy and dvd fine but has problems when it comes to the hd. I set it manually in the cmos but when I try to install anything on the hd it gives me error messages. I tested another hd and I got errors with that too.
(3) The pcu runs at very high temperatures,... I think. I don't really know what high temps are but after about five minutes of fiddling, it reaches temps of 200 degrees fahrenheit. To me, that sounds extremely high.

I'm thinking I got a bad motherboard, real bad... but I really couldn't say. Would a low cmos battery cause the hd to malfunction and are those temps irregular. If so, should I return the board. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, edeos.

 

[sadb0i]

if you bought a NEW board...and it doesnt work they way it should send it back till you get one that WORKS...really...dont settle for something thats not working correctly..

 

[Workin']

I would return that motherboard ASAP. The battery isn't low, that board has a flaw that gives that message. The drive detection problem could be a lot of things...

Also, 200 F is too hot, but that has nothing to do with the motherboard - you probably don't have the heatsink installed correctly.

 

[MetroRider]

is that 300 watt power supply you list there the one that comes with the Enlight case? specifically, do you have the Enlight 7237?

 

[lsman]

you should first check the jumper of your harddrive. If its a single drive (i assume your dvd drive on 2nd ide master), make sure the jumper set to single (or cable select but not master/slave! I have a WD HD that has this option) and you should able to detect the HD by press 'F3' at the bios screen.

Before that, you should reinstall your HSF, 200F is too high. Make sure the cpu touch the heat sink and use some thermal compound correctly (put some thermal compound on the surface that will meet the CPU, buff to fill any cracks on the metal and clean them off, apply a very thin layer on CPU chip only. A credit card is a good tool to make it very thin. Make sure your HSF is level so the CPU will touch it).

BTW, i use a enlight 7237 which come with a 300W and not much a problem. Wish you good luck.

 

[flungster]

isman is definitely correct there.. that 200 F temp reading sounds horrendous. What kind of heatsink are you using for your processor? I've built a K7S5A before for my sister and used a Volcano 6 heatsink on my proc. Worked pretty nicely though I don't remember off the top of my head what the idle and load temps were but nothing higher than around 40+C under load. As for the CMOS errors - look around at the jumpers. I do agree that it could be a defective board and in which case you should ideally return it but do some investigative work too if you have the time. If this is your PC, then it's the only way to learn - poke around and have fun!

 

[DoctorBooze]

edeos - Both the ECS K7S5A boards I have were shipped with the Reset CMOS jumper in the "Clear" position. Even though the manual says to check it and put it in the "Normal" position, I didn't on the first one, and got errors like those you describe. I intensely dislike WD drives because every one I ever saw blew up, but I know that's not other peoples' experience; maybe you should take lsman's advice about jumper settings on that drive. 200F is WAY too hot and liable to cause a fried CPU. Of course it is possible the board is broken, so don't wait too long before trying to return it.

 

[edeos]

As for the temp, its really odd because this is my first computer but I'd like to think I have a decent amount of knowledge but I really don't know. The temperature is really messing with my head because I had a different pcu at first and It didn't really work right at first but after I fiddled with it for a while, the pcu was completely dead. I thought I killed it so I put my friends pcu in there to test the temperatures. I used his pcu heatsink and fan and still got very high temps. Maybe it's just the bios going quirky but then again I took on the pcu and its quit hot, almost burns the skin. I know that the cmos jumper is set correctly. I resest it a few times while troubleshooting. The hd is set to primary master adn the dvd is set to secondary master using two different ide cables. I tried different configurations and they don't work either.
As for the temperature issue. I was hoping that the motherboard could cause this problem because my first pcu got killed. I don't think I did it because it worked at first, at least a little bit. Since I'm having the same problems with another pcu I thought it could be the motherboard but then again since it is my first pc, it could also be my installation. Thanks for the help.

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

<< As for the temp, its really odd because this is my first computer but I'd like to think I have a decent amount of knowledge but I really don't know. The temperature is really messing with my head because I had a different pcu at first and It didn't really work right at first but after I fiddled with it for a while, the pcu was completely dead. I thought I killed it so I put my friends pcu in there to test the temperatures. I used his pcu heatsink and fan and still got very high temps. Maybe it's just the bios going quirky but then again I took on the pcu and its quit hot, almost burns the skin. I know that the cmos jumper is set correctly. I resest it a few times while troubleshooting. The hd is set to primary master adn the dvd is set to secondary master using two different ide cables. I tried different configurations and they don't work either.
As for the temperature issue. I was hoping that the motherboard could cause this problem because my first pcu got killed. I don't think I did it because it worked at first, at least a little bit. Since I'm having the same problems with another pcu I thought it could be the motherboard but then again since it is my first pc, it could also be my installation. Thanks for the help. >>



its CPU bud, not PCU....Central Processing Unit

 

[edeos]

oops, good point... jerkase

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

jerkase? just trying to help...if you continue refering to a cpu as a pcu you'll sound pretty incoherent to anyone that's slightly computer literate.

 

[edeos]

i know, its just that i hadn't slept in days and i didn't bother proofreading. grrr. its getting light again.

 

[punkrawket]

you said you tried a friends cpu and heatsink.... and got 200F right??? well motherboards don't really read temps a whole lot higher...... at least the k7s5a doesn't (i don't think it does at least)... how is your case cooling (i.e. case fans... wholes...case side on/off)?? and was there a thermal pad on the heatsink? or did you use artic silver or another thermal grease?

 

[flungster]

Your friends' heat sink? I would assume then that it's a heat sink meant for Socket A processors and that you applied some thermal grease. Dumb question but did you make sure to attach the heatsink down to the mobo and not just sit it on top of the processor? I've seen people do that when they build a PC for the first time. That'll definitely raise your temps pretty darn high if you don't actually attach the heatsink to the clips. What kind of heatsink was your friends? and is it rated for the same kind of athlon you're using?

 

[GraveJoKer]

Ok.. Let's start from the begining ...
which HSF are you using??

 

[edeos]

Both CPU's had a thermal pad. The first CPU was a oem 1.4 athlon with a coolermaster heatsink/fan. The second CPU was a retail 1.2 athlon with the heatsink/fan it came with originally. With both, the case was cooling fine, the system temps were low but the CPU temps were very high.
And,... lol, yes, I attached the heatsink and fan.

 

[RossGr]

heat pads are only good for one use, once you remove the CPU you need to clean it off and replace it, best just to scrape it off and apply thermal compound from the start. I have found the Radio Shack stuff to work just fine. I now am using AS, but do not see enough difference to jusify the cost.

 

[Jersey]

Others have suggested that ECS got a bad batch of batteries. Replacing the battery might be worth a try.

I had the same error message and once I got the BIOS properly configured I have not had the message since. Note that I do not turn the unit off for any significant length of time. Probably should just replace the battery for "luck."

 

[Thump553]

There is a forum over at ocworkbench.com for the ECS motherboard, should be very helpful and has a good faq. There used to be official ECS K7S5A threads here, but they have unfortunately disappeared, apparently (my last search couldn't find them.

The advice on replacing the thermal pad with thermal compound is 100% correct. Your overheating problem is caused by improper installation, not by any fault of the motherboard.

Also, as adviced, check your juimper settings to make sure not on clear. Instead of replacing the motherboard, you may want to try replacing the battery first-it should cost less than $5 at Compusa, Radio Shack, etc.

What power supply are you using? 300 watts could easily be inadequate for a 1.2 Tbird. The Antec 300 watt psu, which is excellent, is only approved up to an Athlon 900. Check AMD's site for approved psu.

PS-I also had no idea what a pcu is, so don't be so sensitive.
Edit-correction to ocworkbench.com

 

[starwarsdad]

There is a forum over at overworkbench.com for the ECS motherboard, should be very helpful and has a good faq. There used to be official ECS K7S5A threads here, but they have unfortunately disappeared, apparently (my last search couldn't find them.

I tried to find overworkbench.com and got nothing. Also tried Google, still nothing. Can you give me a link for the site? I am building a system based on this board next week and would appreciate any help that is out there.

Thanks!!!!

 

[osage]

Here, and here...

 

[hwstock]

<< The advice on replacing the thermal pad with thermal compound is 100% correct. Your overheating problem is caused by improper installation, not by any fault of the motherboard. >>



In my last 5 builds, I used the thermal pads supplied with the AMD and Intel boxed processors. The temperatures have been quite respectable. I figure that if AMD and Intel are willing to warranty a CPU, fan and thermal pad combo, then those companies must have done some serious engineering studies to justify that decision.

I'm sure the deft and experienced can get a better contact with Arctic silver, etc.; but I'm also sure that there are lots of 1st-time builders out there who screw up royally when they attempt to make their own thermal contact.

But back to the situation at hand: On my K7S5a with 1.4GHz XP, CPU temps rarely exceed 46C (115F), a far cry from the 93 C (200F) this fellow reports. If he is getting a motherboard CPU sensor reading of 93C, there is a good chance that the actual die temperature is well over 93C, since the die temperature must be extrapolated from the motherboard sensor. (Numerous tests -- see MikeWarrior2's posts-- show the die temperature is generally higher than the T reported by motherboard sensors.) Since AMD warns that the die temperture should not exceed 90 to 95C for these chips, there is a good chance that his is operating in a region of gross instability. Or, the sensor on the mboard has been damaged.