PROBLEMS with my AMD 1.2 ghz Duron and ECS K7S5A

sphan27

Junior Member
Oct 29, 2002
2
0
0
Hello,


I recently bought an AMD 1.2 ghz Duron processor in a combo with a ECS K7S5A with an SiS 735 chipset. When I brought it home, it didnt work. So, I just thought it was a dead cpu. I brought it back , and they gave me another one. Now, here comes the fun part. I put it together, everything is good to go. IT doesnt power up. Now my speculation is this CPU isnt compatible with the Mobo, but why would Fry's do such a thing?!?! So, as of now I still have the two. I put on my other Athlon XP 1ghz and it worked fine. Can anyone help me out? Thanks for reading!!


-sphan27
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
There are a great many things that could be causing your troubles. The one, big thing I will tell you right off the bat is that that CPU and MB are DEFINITELY compatible; that is not your trouble here so don't worry about that.
The best place to start would be for you to list all your components, including make and model of Power Supply and RAM. While collecting this, you can try a couple of "generic" helper hints. Before you start, check to make sure that the Clear CMOS jumper is in the "Normal" position. Then remove the ATX power connector to the MB and put the jumper in the "Clear" position and leave it for about 5 minutes. Then put it back to the Normal position. Try again to boot. If that doesn't work, go to the next step. First, don't install all your components at once. Remove any PCI cards (assuming your video card is AGP), and optical drives. Start with just the basics; MB, PS, CPU w/HSF, one stick of RAM, video card and floppy drive. That is more than enough to test-boot for now. If possible, put it together outside of the case on a flat surface with the anti-static foam and/or bag from the MB under it. If not, then make damned sure that all the standoffs under the MB are in the correct position and the back I/O plate is on correctly/straight. One badly placed standoff can short things out badly. Try this at first, collect your list of parts and get back to us. There are several people here very familiar with that board that can help. There is also a good site for this board
here.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,015
12,553
136
It seems PC Chips et al, love to have the clear CMOS jumper set to clear the CMOS when they ship their boards. This is very annoying when other manufactures don't. I keep forgetting this fact and get confused as to why the system won't boot. So I put a post-it note where I can see it when I work on those boards. :)
 

sphan27

Junior Member
Oct 29, 2002
2
0
0
Ok Thanks!!


I'll be sure to give those methods a try and will reply with the results. The thing that kills me the most is, I used my AMD 1ghz XP and put the CPU onto that mobo and it worked great. I just dont get it. Oh well, thats what happens . . . :(

Perhaps I shall reply with great news or devstating news. Thanks for all your help, I shall Keep In Touch just in case

-Scott
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
1
0
See, that's why you should operate the "CMOS Clear" jumper every time you change CPUs. The board, after running an Athlon XP, is set to run 133 MHz CPU bus, which the Duron is not going to be happy with.
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
There is no such thing as a 1 GHz XP CPU. They don't go that low. I believe the lowest is the XP 1500+, which is a 1.33 GHz CPU. Perhaps it was an "regular" Athlon, in which case it could have been a 200 as opposed to a 266 CPU. Hmmm!
 

Continuum37

Junior Member
Oct 30, 2002
1
0
0
I had the same problem with a Fry's K7S5A and 1.2 Duron bundle. Strange thing was, the MB worked fine with my 800 Athlon in it. The problem - power supply. Those K7S5A's are notoriously finicky for power. I bought a Antec True 330, and it's worked fine ever since.
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Originally posted by: Continuum37
I had the same problem with a Fry's K7S5A and 1.2 Duron bundle. Strange thing was, the MB worked fine with my 800 Athlon in it. The problem - power supply. Those K7S5A's are notoriously finicky for power. I bought a Antec True 330, and it's worked fine ever since.

Be careful about using that word "finicky" with this board. There are some that might take it for "picky" and not be pleased with the reference. J/K! :)
As to your case in point, it is an excellent "pointer" for others; thanks! The K7S5A can, at times, be a bit (God help me!), "picky" about power issues. You really need to pay attention to the minimum standards recommended by AMD for power. A good point in reference is to make sure that you have at least 165 watts (or more), combined on the 3.3 and 5 volt lines. There are other important guidelines for the PS but this is a good starting point. If you need a good recommendation for power supplies, budget minded of course, let us know. Good Luck!
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Do you have the power switch plugged into the board correctly?. When I first put together my K7S5A
system it didn't fire up either. Turns out I had the power switch plugged into the wrong pins on the
block!. The manuel is slightley confusing with the illistrations for this..
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Originally posted by: kjacobs
I hope that an Antec 350 PS will be good to go with this board?

Ken

That Antec PS should be fine; the specs are within limits. Just as an example for others on the differences in PS's though, this unit has a combined output of 180 watts on the 3.3 & 5 volt rails whereas the Sparkle 300 watt PS has a conbined output of 200 watts. Interesting, isn't it? Bigger (at least in this case) isn't always better.
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
Enhance's 300w PSU has a combined 3.3 and 5v of 220w, and it relatively cheap. Runs a K7S5A and 1600+ just fine...
 

BigEdMuustaffa

Golden Member
Jan 29, 2002
1,361
0
0
I upgraded BIOS and system drivers which fixed my Win ME, computer not shutting off or rebooting problem, but I still can't get 100/133 to work, even with Crucial PC2100 ddr. The computer runs unstable unless I set it to 100/100. Someone said that since the Duron has a clock speed of 200 which is a multiple of 100. The memory setting should be 100 ans welll. But that means PC2100 is running as if it were PC1600. Why does this MB have a 100/133 setting, if it doesn't work? Help!!!
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Have you tried running at 133/133 instead? This has worked in some situations. You might have to unlock the CPU though.
 

BigEdMuustaffa

Golden Member
Jan 29, 2002
1,361
0
0
New problem now. I left it at 100/100, but since rebuilding the computer and upgrading the bios and drivers, the system hangs on the windows ME screen. Sometimes it will work fine, other times it hangs on this screen. A push of the reset button works, it brings you to the choose safe mode, normal etc. and you choose normal it boots up fine, but I'd like to have it boot right all the time. Any ideas? :(
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Originally posted by: BigEdMuustaffa
New problem now. I left it at 100/100, but since rebuilding the computer and upgrading the bios and drivers, the system hangs on the windows ME screen. Sometimes it will work fine, other times it hangs on this screen. A push of the reset button works, it brings you to the choose safe mode, normal etc. and you choose normal it boots up fine, but I'd like to have it boot right all the time. Any ideas? :(
Could be a couple of things, including the PS (which you will no doubt note that I said earlier should be fine!
:eek:) However, there could be many reasons for the PS to "give up the ghost" at any point in time. An incomplete boot is one of the behaviors that shows when the PS is "suspect". Don't run out and buy a new one just yet but keep it in mind for later referrence.
Which BIOS did you use for the update because there are a couple that have a rep for not working too well. Also, did you "rebuild" the system from scratch? I mean, did you format the HD completely? Just curious as there can be differring definitions of "rebuilds". Are you able to check your voltages in the BIOS during the boot process? That would also be a good source of information.
 

BigEdMuustaffa

Golden Member
Jan 29, 2002
1,361
0
0
Hi, I flashed to BIOS 021029, not the latest one (STD I think it's called) but the first one. I rebuilt from scratch did a HD reformat (and fdisk) several times actually with clean installs of Win ME each time.