K7S5A Boot Problem

A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
normally follows this did not display anything.

I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.

Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?

Milan wrote:
> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
> normally follows this did not display anything.
>
> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>
> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?

bad nvram?

bad (as opposed to missing) memory?

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

Then why didn't the BIOS say that it failed.

Is the NVRAM the CMOS.


CJT wrote:
> Milan wrote:
>
>> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
>> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
>> normally follows this did not display anything.
>>
>> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
>> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
>> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>>
>> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?
>
>
> bad nvram?
>
> bad (as opposed to missing) memory?
>

Milan wrote:
> Then why didn't the BIOS say that it failed.
>
I don't know.

> Is the NVRAM the CMOS.
>
No, the NVRAM is the NVRAM and the CMOS is the CMOS.
>
> CJT wrote:
>
>> Milan wrote:
>>
>>> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
>>> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
>>> normally follows this did not display anything.
>>>
>>> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
>>> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
>>> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>>>
>>> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?
>>
>>
>>
>> bad nvram?
>>
>> bad (as opposed to missing) memory?
>>


--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

Try resetting CMOS. There are some shortcomings with the AMI BIOS that
give inexplicable problems. For example, if you change the hardware
setup (add/remove boards), checksum errors can crop up with the k7s5a.

--
Best regards,
Kyle
"Milan" <> wrote in message
news:Mzi5d.31557$ ...
| A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
| displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
| normally follows this did not display anything.
|
| I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
| error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
| Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
|
| Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?

Do you even know what NVRAM stands for.

CJT wrote:
> Milan wrote:
>
>> Then why didn't the BIOS say that it failed.
>>
> I don't know.
>
>> Is the NVRAM the CMOS.
>>
> No, the NVRAM is the NVRAM and the CMOS is the CMOS.
>
>>
>> CJT wrote:
>>
>>> Milan wrote:
>>>
>>>> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
>>>> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
>>>> normally follows this did not display anything.
>>>>
>>>> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
>>>> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
>>>> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> bad nvram?
>>>
>>> bad (as opposed to missing) memory?
>>>
>
>

We tried that. Didn't work.

Unplugging HDD, FDD, keyboard and mouse didn't help, so the problem is
not with any of these.

Took out friend's DRAM and used a known working extra module from my
computer. That didn't help either. Seems like the problem is with one
of the onboard devices. So it's starting to look like he needs to
replace his motherboard.


Kylesb wrote:

> Try resetting CMOS. There are some shortcomings with the AMI BIOS that
> give inexplicable problems. For example, if you change the hardware
> setup (add/remove boards), checksum errors can crop up with the k7s5a.
>

"Milan" <> wrote in message
news:Mzi5d.31557$ ...
> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
> normally follows this did not display anything.
>
> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>
> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?
---
Could be the power supply isn't good enough to get everything going. Cold
boots are the most demanding because all your hardware gets started up and
readied for use. K7S5A is very picky about lots of quality power. Also,
using 2 sticks of SDRAM can cause problems. Try using one stick or switch to
DDR. If he's using a generic 300W or less power supply, that's likely the
problem.

"Milan" <> wrote in message
news:Mzi5d.31557$ ...
> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
> normally follows this did not display anything.
>
> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory.
>
> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?

Look again with Google for what NVRam is. Perhaps you may get a good
suggestion.
I don't believe that NVRam has anything to do with SDram or System
Ram.
I put "checking nvram" in the search box in Google (including the "
marks) and here was one part of many hits:

http://www.computing.net/os2/wwwboard/forum/867.html

"I had this same problem today actually. But it was resolved fairly
quick. If you have any extra USB on your Motherboard, unplug them from
the motherboard. If they are plugged in wrong, it will halt on that
same spot."

There is more if you want to search.
Buffalo

"Milan" <> wrote in message news:Mzi5d.31557$ ...
> A friend has a K7S5A pro motherboard that hangs during a boot after
> displaying "Checking NVRAM" on the monitor. The memory test that
> normally follows this did not display anything.
>
> I have a K7S5A and took out my memory to see if I would get the same
> error. The BIOS did not output anything at all to the monitor.
> Therefore I don't think that it's bad memory..
>
> Any ideas what would cause the BIOS to hang here?

Another thing to try is to remove all the IDE cables and try to reboot.
If it now doesn't show the NVRAM problem , shut down and connect up each device , one at a time and try booting up after each one.
You may find that it now works with all devices or that one device (or its connector or cable) causes the problem.

Perhaps just try removing and reseating all IDE cable connections first.