Where'd all my money go ECS??

[Guest]

I built my new machine six months ago confident that the ECS K7S5A motherboard was perfect due to budget constrainsts and the dual memory support.

The problem is that recently my games have been crashing with errors like:
"pistol_smoke1.mdl has been modified since starting the engine" <-- for counter strike
or
"cannot decompress sprite [name]" <-- for diablo2

anyways, I've had my Alpha 8045 heat sink dusted (by 100psi compressor), I've had my power supply replaced, and I'm sure its not a driver issue since my games worked FINE until I switched from 384MB of SDRAM to 512MB of DDR ram.

So after talking to two close friends about it, we think its either the ECS mainboard (my opinion) or the ATi Radeon VIVO video card.

My processor it the AMD 1.4 GHz Athlon T-bird, and the on-board sound has 'issues' with my sound blaster Live! value sound card, although sound continues to work (which is a topic for another thread another time). I also have 4 case fans (2 in, 2 out) and a 7000RPM Sunnon screamer on the heatsink. The temp of the system never goes above 31°C and the CPU temp never goes above 55°C because if it reaches these temp's it shuts down.

So, my question the educated people of this forum is: What do you think the problem is? AND What can be done to solve it? Also, if the solution requires a new part (such as a new mother board) what would you recommend? I was thinking of getting the ASUS A7V333 motherboard as a replacement but I haven't resarched it yet.

 

[HonestJhon]

what power supply?
what other components?
does it still work if you put the 384 megs back?
what revision is your board?(white sticker near the pci slots)
what operating system?


as for the sound..disable the onboard..it sucks anyways...and the problems with the sound card should dissapear.

if you have a good powersupply, then you shouldnt have any problems.
most problems with this board are related to power issues.
i know that you replaced the psu, but if it was one of the same quality, and isnt putting out the correct voltages, then the problem wont go away. adding extra ram increases the power consumption, and if your powersupply cant handle it, then it will cause problems.


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Tiberius13]

Let's start with the obvious things...

First, if you have a sound card in the system... the onboard sound should be Disabled. Otherwise, you essentially have 2 sound devices fighting for (the same) resources... which will only cause major problems.

Second.... you probably spelled out the issue clear as day in your message.... you changed the RAM and then the problems started....

It sounds like a bad stick of RAM is something you should test for. If you have 2 sticks, try running with just 1 at a time and see if that fixes the problem. Also, try both slots on the motherboard. That gives you up to 4 possible combinations to try. If you have 1 stick of DDR, then try it in each slot.

If you have changed anything else on the machine from the time you had it running stable... that info might be useful too.

 

[HonestJhon]

kaching!

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Guest]

Ok, so The power supply is "NO NAME" as far as I can tell plus the warrantee sticker is broken!!! The computer store gave me a referb no name PSU!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!

I have 2 Hard drives (10gig 5400rpm, 30 gig 7200 rpm),a DVD rom and a CD-Writer (Hewelet Packard 10x8x32x)

My dad is using my 256MB SDRAM stick now so I tried it with just the 128MB stick and it works.

The MOBO sticker says "MPS 30706 OCT 03/01"

I'm using Windows 98

The power supply is stinking up my room so I'm going to return it b4 it explodes and costs me more money!

I disabled the on board sound and it didn't give me a windows protection error like it had been doing when I tried to disable it b4.

 

[HonestJhon]

you know what...that powersupply is probably what is giving you all this guff.
make sure they give you a REAL one, a good name brand one like enermax.
it should be able to put out enough juice, and will last you much longer than any noname one.
and it will be QUIET....
and i would yell at the computer store for giving you a refurbished, opened, possibly damaged powersupply...because that could have blown, and killed most of your hardware!!!!!!!!
i know i would be pissed as hell!

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Tiberius13]

That powersupply sounds really fishy.... definitely take it back and get them to exchange it where you got it... Selling you something that has been tampered with 'as new' just isn't acceptable.

I disabled the on board sound and it didn't give me a windows protection error like it had been doing when I tried to disable it b4.

Ummmm... you should be disabling the onboard sound in the BIOS. I don't see how you could get a Windows error from disabling something while in the BIOS... If the motherboard has jumpers to disable the onboard sound also, do it by jumper also (I don't think the K7S5A has such jumpers though).

 

[Guest]

Well I AM mad that they would pull this kind of bs on me, but I don't think this little computer store even carries good power supplies, I'll just go out and buy a real one and put this pice of shite through the stores window! j/k

Thanks for the brand suggestion, it the store doesn't have that brand what would be 2nd, 3rd best?

 

[Guest]

Allow me to clarify: No jumpers on this board, I am disabling it in the BIOS but when I do that windows will NOT load. I would see the usual screen saying windows is loading then it'd stop, kick me into dos, and leave the computer hung up with the text "windows protection error. you must restart our computer and try again." but for some reason this time it didn't do that!

PS I'm using my dads computer to post until I get a reliable psu.

 

[Tiberius13]

Glad to hear that it didn't give that weird behaviour this time!

As far as power supply brands go... Enermax, Antec, Sparkle and PC Power & Cooling seem to be widely respected.

<font color=purple><b>You have just proven that signature advertising works!</b></font color=purple>

 

[HonestJhon]

second? hmm...i would say i have heard good things about sparkle powersupplies.
3rd...hmmmm....antec....
those are pretty good brand names, and should be able to handle the power requirements of this setup.
and as for chucking the psu through the window...i wouldnt go that far, but i might walk in and start yelling about how you know what they are up to...selling used psus, to save money...and that if it had blown, they would be looking at replacing all the stuff in your computer.
i was at the local computer store near here (fry's) and i know that their service people arent all trained properly.
when i was in there once, this service person was trying to decide if the computer someone had brought in was defective, and she plugged their "test" psu in to his computer, and powered it on.
BANG, POP, CRACKLE, SPARKS, SMOKE!!!!!
the psu literally crapped the bed, and in my opinion, when something like that happens, there is a good chance that the motherboard and the peripherals attatched to it can get a nice charge that kills everything!
NOT good.
so the guy was like..EHEm..you are replacing that computer i hope you know.
....HAHA..i dont know if they did or not, because i left due to the horrible smelling smoke that was coming out of the psu...
but yeah..disabling the onboard sound in the bios should take care of it.
what i would do first, to be safe, is to uninstall it in windows, or safe mode, and then disable it.
but that shouldnt really be necessary.
i hope that a new powersupply resolves this issue.
but even if it doesnt, and you end up getting a new board, you will at least have a GOOD powersupply to build from!
but this should fix it.
i mean, crashman has been posting about how everyone blames this board for problems, when most of the time it is the powersupply that is not cutting it!
good luck!

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Guest]

Well I'm back from WinTronics computers and I have to tell you guys, they are the best when it comes to selection, I got an enermax 365 watt PSU and I gave the guy who replaced my power supply under warrantee with a refurbished pice of crap a good yelling! Guess what he said? they'll give me a "new" no name psu to replace this one! lol

So I'll post again once I've finished putting the psu and DDR ram into my comp.

 

[Xynok]

That "Windows protection error" indicates the system is unable to write to memory. You have bad RAM my friend. What brand of RAM are you using? Crucial, Corsair, or anything with samsung or infineon chips. Anything else = what you have now.

PSU not withstanding (Get a REAL PSU already, Enermax, Sparkle, Antec or PC Power and cooling if you want to go all out), this is a memory error, period.

I have simply seen it too many times, using this exact board, when people try to use generic RAM. If your RAM is one of the above mentioned, you got a bad stick. That error is burned into my mind I have seen it so many times. Get good RAM and those problems will disappear. Also, try this trick: in the BIOS, set the DDR to 100 instead of 133. Tell me if the problem goes away. Anyway, it should be pretty obvius when ANOTHER stick of RAM, everything else considered, lets the system work with NO PROBLEMS.

And to assuage your doubts, that Mobo is very solid. There is nothing wrong with your mobo. Indeed, I refer to it as ECS's Phoenix. It is a very solid board.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Xynok on 03/15/02 03:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Tiberius13]

Uhhhh.. dude... do you live in Mississauga?? We might be neighbours!

I bought my computer from http://www.wintroniccomputers.com at the Mississauga location.

A computer I purchased more recently I got from www.infonec.com though... great prices, better service... and an all around better feel about the place/people...

<font color=purple><b>You have just proven that signature advertising works!</b></font color=purple>

 

[Guest]

DAMN IT! xynic is right! It must be the @#$% RAM cause I just put the new power supply in as well as the DDR ram and I get the same crashing error I was having before, time to drive back to wintronics and find out how good they are about replacement parts! My guess is not at all! I live in burlington btw.

 

[Xynok]

Crucial 256MB DDR266 RAM at Best Buy (hey, its good RAM, regardless of the store) = $150

Go buy it NOW, get on with your life.

 

[Guest]

Hahaha, I live in Canada, no best buy here!! (yet)! Only Future Shop. I think I'll return this ram and buy a better brand if wintronics won't cover it under a warrantee.

 

[Tiberius13]

Actually... I suggested it was the RAM (first)...

As far as how good they are at replacement parts... the computer I got from them last April had a crashing problem (like yours currently has)... It took my until January to finally properly troubleshoot it and take the computer in to the get RAM swapped.... they did it for me without any hassle. Based on my experience, they will do it without any issues...

If you can only swap the defective ram than you are basically stuck with the brands they use - but at least you'll get functional ram eventually.

If you can just return the ram and get a refund... I think I could get some Crucial DDR (a couple 256mb sticks) for you for around $150 each. (Crucial currently sells for $185+tax new at bigfootcomputers.com in Toronto... so that's a great deal... and Crucial is the best DDR there is)

Lemme know if you might be interested in that...

<font color=purple><b>You have just proven that signature advertising works!</b></font color=purple> <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tiberius13 on 03/15/02 04:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Xynok]

Ack, well, whatever the equivalent is, heh.

Either way, I more than ASSURE you it is your RAM. I wish I would have seen this post earlier, I could have saved you a massive headache. Again, I have simply seen this numerous times on this board using crap RAM. The Board is solid as a rock. The money you save on it means invest the rest in a good PSU and memory. NEVER skimp on RAM or PSU. NEVER. Especially on this board, it like to be babied, heh.

Did I mention never skimp on RAM or PSU?

Have a good weekend

 

[Guest]

HAHAHAHA sorry to spoil your fun but its NOT the ram after all!!!!! I just got it replaced, both the old and the new dimm is Samsung!!!! I just tested it and I'm still getting the same crashing problem! So this only leaves 2 things:

The Mother board is defective

or

My video card is defective

 

[Xynok]

Does the RAM work in other boards? Does other RAM work on your board?

It is a RAM problem, I'm telling you.

 

[Black_Cat]

Try setting the DRAM timing configuration to "Safe". Also you may want to set your CAS latency to 2.5 or even 3. See if that makes a difference.

I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[Tiberius13]

Dude.... I wouldn't rule out the RAM yet.... you could have just got another bad stick... (I wouldn't be surprised if some computer shops recycle returned sticks until someone just doesn't bother to complain and return it... or it might even work in another system)

One way to test is to borrow ram from a friend that they know works. Another (which I did) was to get RAM from Future Shop (they have Azen brand DDR)... use that to see if it fixes your problem (there is a 30 day return policy so just return it within 30 days). If it does, return the crappy Samsung again and either get RAM elsewhere, or keep swapping it at Wintronics until you get good stuff.

<font color=purple><b>You have just proven that signature advertising works!</b></font color=purple>

 

[Guest]

Well I talked to the guy at wintronics and he said it could be that "the ram isn't compatable with the board" whatever that means, my board supports both DDR and SD ram! Anyways, I think I'll just take my computer over the wintronics and have them try and fix it since $330 of their equipment is going to get returned if they can't.

Its all about leverage.

BTW, I work at the Burlington Future Shop so I don't think they'd like it if I pulled that "can I BORROW some ram" trick with them.

 

[Tiberius13]

LOL.... yeah... I guess the Future Shop thing wouldn't be good for you.

Some motherboards are picky about the brand of RAM... that is true... that's why I'm sticking to Crucial... only the best

<font color=purple><b>You have just proven that signature advertising works!</b></font color=purple>