Motherboard and RAM type relation

[EndOfThirsty]

Two years before, I tried combination of ABIT KT7 and two double-sided PC-133 RAMs. All assembly processes were seemingly done fine but system was halted right before RAM checking. I couldn't recognize what caused the halt. Whatever I said, dealer suggested me to exchange ABIT KT7 to ASUS A7V that performed with no error. I answered yes and then halt problem had been resolved. ASUS A7V sufficed me when I used computers since recently.

Unfortunately however I am experiencing strange hardware/software behaviour that is suspeciously originated from A7V; first, SB Live! installed in slot 4/5 is recognized irregulary although recent BIOS update was applied; secondly, system's power switch often performs improperly but it performs fine after power connector and other devices are remounted several times; thirdly, initial boot information exceeds extent of regular screen; and so forth...

Due to those symptoms I am considering to change motherboard from A7V to KT7. If my conjecture is right, ABIT KT7 won't halt unless double-sided RAM is used with. Question is this: is there anyone who have been using KT7 with double-sided PC-133 RAM fine? If so, which brand and unit name is the RAM?

 

[KF]

I've got an ABIT KT7 with two 256M sticks of PC133. One is Crucial and double sided. The other is Centon and one sided.
Both operate at the tightest timing my BIOS has. It used to have double sided PC100 128MB of some noname memory when I first got it

The ABIT KT7 and ASUS A7V have the same VIA KT133 chipset, I believe, so they should accept exactly the same memory. Maybe the KT7 needed a BIOS update a couple of years ago or it was just a defective motherboard.

>thirdly, initial boot information exceeds extent of regular screen;
This doesn't sound like a motherboard problem. In fact it sounds normal if it is just scrolling off. If the screen seems to be cut off like it is too big to fit on the monitor, it is a the video card or monitor, but all you need to do is adjust the monitor.

>system's power switch often performs improperly but it performs fine after power
>connector and other devices are remounted several times.

Is the CPU fan spinning? Is there a lot of crud lodged in the heatsink?
Do you have another power supply you can try?

>SB Live! installed in slot 4/5 is recognized irregulary

Maybe you have contact problems. Put the card in and take it out 5 or 6 times to clean the contacts.

KT7s are kind of old and obsolete. Exactly why did you pick that, especially if you are going to get new RAM?