EPoX 8KHA+ Woes

[Olias]

I bought an EPoX 8KHA+ Motherboard from Bigfoot Computers in Canada and it has been problematic from the start. It wouldn?t POST about 10% of the time so I emailed them and received no reply. BTW, I?m not overclocking anything here. I then contacted EPoX to tell them of the problem and they suggested replacing the BIOS chip. I replaced the old BIOS chip with the one they had sent me and still the problem persisted. I then tried their latest BIOS update (8KHI2108) but this didn?t help either. I started asking on Internet forums and was told that I should buy an Antec PP412x 400W power supply because this board required lots of 5 volt current. This power supply was not cheap and it didn?t help except to further my aggravation. I have spent much time, money and effort to get this system to work consistently and I am not pleased with the outcome. For a while I just got used to pressing the reset button when needed but now the system seems to be having problems detecting my memory. I have one 256MB stick of Crucial DDR PC2100, CL=2.5 memory that as of this week will only detect as 128MB. I tried the same stick of memory on another board made by ECS and it detects it properly. I now believe this board to be defective.

Other components of my system:

- Vantec CCK-6035D w/AS2 Paste;
- Two Sunon 80mm fans;
- AMD Athlon 1.4GHz Thunderbird;
- Asus V7100T Pro Video Card;
- Maxtor 30GB Hard Drive;
- Toshiba SD-M1212 DVD Drive;
- Plextor PX-W1610A CD-RW Drive;
- Antec SX-830 Case.

I tried other BIOS versions and as always, loading optimize defaults. Is it RMA time now of have I missed something?

Thanks, Olias

 

[gaidin123]

Sorry to hear about your problems with this board.

Have you tried placing the memory stick in each of the available slots? Take out and reseat everything firmly. I had a problem with my AGP card (the board gave me a 7F code until I reseated the graphics card firmly). I'm sure you've done this but resetting the CMOS can't harm anything in this case.

Try unhooking everything except for the board, video card, CPU, and RAM. Also taking the board completely out of the case would eliminate the possibility of it getting shorted out somewhere.

It sounds like the RAM or the RAM slots are the issue. Do you have another stick of RAM you could test in that board (even though your current stick works fine in another board)?

Let us know what happens!
Gaidin

 

[BuckNaked]

I agree with gaidin123... These boards seem to require more force than normal to properly seat the RAM modules... It sounds as if it needs to be reseated or try moving to another slot. I am pretty happy with my board, and thats coming from someone who usually sticks with ASUS or ABIT and then only on boards that have been out for awhile and have a good track record.

Dave

 

[ShinSa]

<< I bought an EPoX 8KHA+ Motherboard from Bigfoot Computers in Canada and it has been problematic from the start. It wouldn?t POST about 10% of the time so I emailed them and received no reply. BTW, I?m not overclocking anything here. I then contacted EPoX to tell them of the problem and they suggested replacing the BIOS chip. I replaced the old BIOS chip with the one they had sent me and still the problem persisted. I then tried their latest BIOS update (8KHI2108) but this didn?t help either. I started asking on Internet forums and was told that I should buy an Antec PP412x 400W power supply because this board required lots of 5 volt current. This power supply was not cheap and it didn?t help except to further my aggravation. I have spent much time, money and effort to get this system to work consistently and I am not pleased with the outcome. For a while I just got used to pressing the reset button when needed but now the system seems to be having problems detecting my memory. I have one 256MB stick of Crucial DDR PC2100, CL=2.5 memory that as of this week will only detect as 128MB. I tried the same stick of memory on another board made by ECS and it detects it properly. I now believe this board to be defective.

Other components of my system:

- Vantec CCK-6035D w/AS2 Paste;
- Two Sunon 80mm fans;
- AMD Athlon 1.4GHz Thunderbird;
- Asus V7100T Pro Video Card;
- Maxtor 30GB Hard Drive;
- Toshiba SD-M1212 DVD Drive;
- Plextor PX-W1610A CD-RW Drive;
- Antec SX-830 Case.

I tried other BIOS versions and as always, loading optimize defaults. Is it RMA time now of have I missed something?

Thanks, Olias >>




Olias, I know your pain. I built a system with the same motherboard for my GF. She had to push the reset button 10 times to get it to boot and sometimes it would just reset on its own.

I thought it might be the ram problem since it kept on beeping when I tried to boot, so i reseated the ram and I could not get the system to boot no matter how many time i reseted. The C1 error kept coming on.

I tried all 3 slots with different rams and different configurations but nothign helped. I was so dissapointed since I told my GF that I could build a flawless computer for her.

I took the board back to the place I purchased it and swapped it out for an Asus AV7 266E.

No problem any more. I know there are many people on this board who admire epox for its value and believe to be the biggest bang for bux and that's what motivated me to go for the epox in the first place.

Im building another system for a friend this weekend, and I will again go for the epox, since it's one of the biggest bargain board on the market. However, I came to believe that quality on the Epox is just not there compared to Asus and Abit boards.

Im running the Kr7A-Raid on my personal system and it runs very smoothly. My GF's Asus has not crashed once since the swap.

Stop fiddling around with the RAM. The board has got to go and I know your pain. You're not alone.

 

[SaturnX]

Generally, I feel that Epox makes great boards, (both myself and many of my friends run the 8HKA+ and 8K7A), however, it just might seem that you got a sour board out of the bunch. I suggest that you return it, and if you're feeling up to it, get another one and see if that helps, because I'm running this board and it was problem free from the start and has great performance, so overall, just take it back and stop the head aches, but you might want to look into the same board again.

--Mark

 

[Mem]

<< My GF's Asus has not crashed once since the swap >>




Nor as my Epox 8KHA+ and a lot cheaper as well then the Asus ,anyway Olias it sounds like your Epox board is faulty but do try first
what gaidin123 as posted and see if that works if not I would RMA it back, any board can become faulty I know somebody here with two Asus replacements that were faulty.


As for pushing the ram in hard well I`ve read this a lot here in AT forums however on mine it was real easy to get both my Crucial ram modules in first time however it does seem that people are having problems with tightness of the ram slots on the Epox board.

 

[Olias]

Thanks gaidin123 tried it all... I've fixed alot of PC's over the years and I'm convinced this board is a dud. Bigfoot Computers has agreed to take the board back on return. I'm determined to get this EPoX thing working. I'm using my Dell P2-350 server box for the interim. I guess no kewl games for me for a week

 

[KouklatheCat]

Sorry youre having a such a pain in the butt with this board. I got really lucky and (knock on wood) have not had any problems with mine. It was kind of a pain in the butt to seat the RAM correctly and I have heard of people getting bad boards so this is entirely possible. Which bios chip did you have, my chip had a U= written on it and it was dated 11/01.

 

[Olias]

<< Which bios chip did you have??? >>


The old BIOS chip has a silver sticker with an "L" on it. The new chip that EPoX sent me has no sticker so I can read the markings...

Hyundai KOR
KY29F002TC-90
0109A

I'm going to RMA the board and I'll report back here when I get it together.

 

[Olias]

Well folks, bigfootcomputers sent me a new board after 2 weeks and it's working like a charm. Now I'm wondering if my old Antec 300W PS would be ok rather than using the 400 watter. Anywayz, got a spare PS for my hardware pile in case I someday need it.

Thanks for listening, Olias

 

[oldfoof]

Good , stuff.. I love my Epox 8KHA+ As well...

 

[Ray06492]

I recently purchased the Epox 8KHA+ board, 1700 amd xp, 128 meg ddr, installed it with a 30gig hd, cd and cd/rw, old video card, and put it in an Inwin case with a 300 watt ps. No problems. Also did the above combination with an 1600 amd xp, in an antec case, with a 300 watt ps, no problems.

Enjoy your day,
Raymond

 

[Ionizer86]

Generally, I feel that Epox makes great boards, (both myself and many of my friends run the 8HKA+ and 8K7A), however, it just might seem that you got a sour board out of the bunch. I suggest that you return it, and if you're feeling up to it, get another one and see if that helps, because I'm running this board and it was problem free from the start and has great performance, so overall, just take it back and stop the head aches, but you might want to look into the same board again.

Yes, sometimes, even with Asus and Abit boards, one will get a bad board from a bunch. My first 8KHA+ was extremely time-consuming; I tried everything to get rid of the FF-upon-boot error. No matter what I did (I used multiple PSUs, multiple video cards, etc), nothing helped. I finally RMA'd it, and my new 8KHA+ works flawlessly! I have a high-quality board that is no less stable than Asus boards (and it has one more PCI than the Asus A7V266-E )

Now, I look forward to the EPoX bios with 1/5 dividers So basically, try to RMA it, and your new one should work well

 

[Mem]

Olias,I`m happy you got it replaced and now have a working Epox board,I keep telling everybody no brand or hardware is 100% RMA proof ,it`s only a matter of time before I get a bad motherboard (100% lucky so far ).

 

[OutHouse]

I tried everything to get rid of the FF-upon-boot error. No matter what I did (I used multiple PSUs, multiple video cards, etc), nothing helped. I finally RMA'd it, and my new 8KHA+ works flawlessly!

I know your pain, my new Epox did the FF (which i now call Fricken Fu*ked) out of the box. my new one will be here monday morning. I really hope this new MOBO works.

 

[CubicZirconia]

As for the psu question, I'm sure you'll be fine with your old 300 watt. Huge psu's are not really necessary, at least imho.

 

[punkrock]

epox probably made a bad batch... probably a hung over quality control employee after a long 3 day weekend or something.

 

[Barastol]

<< As for the psu question, I'm sure you'll be fine with your old 300 watt. Huge psu's are not really necessary, at least imho. >>



Your system will no doubt run on the smaller PSU, but the rating doesn't mean that the bigger one draws 400watts all the time, only that it can supply a reliable 400watts, the actuall power consumption is only what components draw.

I'd keep the 400watts in, never know when you might need the extra capacity.

Jon

 

[CraigRT]

hmm, I was just there on the weekend.. call them up and ask for Neil.. he'll probably point you in the right direction as to what to do, or help you out.. They are nice people there I'm sure you'll be able to get something going along the lines or a replacement or something.. You can only do so much troubleshooting.. the board is probably fubared.. it CAN happen.

 

[Olias]

<< hmm, I was just there on the weekend.. call them up and ask for Neil.. he'll probably point you in the right direction as to what to do, or help you out.. They are nice people there I'm sure you'll be able to get something going along the lines or a replacement or something.. You can only do so much troubleshooting.. the board is probably fubared.. it CAN happen. >>



Neil did help me out. He was waiting for his EPoX supplier to replace my board with a refurb but ended up giving me a new one so as not to prlong it any further. The new board has no problems... boots every time