K7S5A IDE Interface flakey when cold booting

Anyone seen a k7s5a act flakey on cold boot, specifically HD access
problems until the system gets warm(er)? Using win2k sp4 on a WD 800JB
80 gig HD.

If I attempt a normal bootup, nearly every time the NT bootloader is
not read properly, or files are not loaded properly, I get all types
of weird boot errors, all types of strange stuff. I run the WD
diagnostics on the HD from a floppy boot, and the test shows no
problems. If I initially bootup and run the diagnostics from floppy
on the HD, then soft boot, the system boots fine.

Just wondering if anyone else has seen a cold boot/IDE warmup problem
with a k7s5a. I had used the HD with another mobo for a short spell
and saw no such problems with it at that time. Have not gone back to
test the HD with the other mobo as yet.

--
Best regards,
Kyle

"Kylesb" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anyone seen a k7s5a act flakey on cold boot, specifically HD access
> problems until the system gets warm(er)? Using win2k sp4 on a WD 800JB
> 80 gig HD.
>
> If I attempt a normal bootup, nearly every time the NT bootloader is
> not read properly, or files are not loaded properly, I get all types
> of weird boot errors, all types of strange stuff. I run the WD
> diagnostics on the HD from a floppy boot, and the test shows no
> problems. If I initially bootup and run the diagnostics from floppy
> on the HD, then soft boot, the system boots fine.
>
> Just wondering if anyone else has seen a cold boot/IDE warmup problem
> with a k7s5a. I had used the HD with another mobo for a short spell
> and saw no such problems with it at that time. Have not gone back to
> test the HD with the other mobo as yet.
>
> --
I've found it common that sometimes K7S5A can't find any drives or misses
just one. A few reboots and playing with the BIOS settings has been the fix.
It also commonly will detect a UDMA 5 hdd and on the next screen claim that
drive is using PIO Mode 4. It just doesn't always detect drives properly.
The performance isn't affected. WD drives have something about them which
causes problems on various boards. They have a special IDE cable to use if
you can convince them to send you one. They don't like to admit their drives
have a problem. I never take the diagnostic software seriously whether it is
WD or Maxtor.

Kylesb wrote:

> Anyone seen a k7s5a act flakey on cold boot, specifically HD access
> problems until the system gets warm(er)? Using win2k sp4 on a WD 800JB
> 80 gig HD.
>
> If I attempt a normal bootup, nearly every time the NT bootloader is
> not read properly, or files are not loaded properly, I get all types
> of weird boot errors, all types of strange stuff. I run the WD
> diagnostics on the HD from a floppy boot, and the test shows no
> problems. If I initially bootup and run the diagnostics from floppy
> on the HD, then soft boot, the system boots fine.
>
> Just wondering if anyone else has seen a cold boot/IDE warmup problem
> with a k7s5a. I had used the HD with another mobo for a short spell
> and saw no such problems with it at that time. Have not gone back to
> test the HD with the other mobo as yet.
>

It sounds like you have done your homework, but I would wonder about
your power supply. What size is it? If you have not already done so, I
would try another IDE cable for that drive as well. Also, you might
remove and re-install your RAM. You could have a location in RAM that
is not behaving correctly when cold but works fine when warm.

Of course you could really have an IDE controller problem, but that
might be established if you were to change the HD to the secondary
controller rather than the primary. Your computer should boot up, and
if your problem went away, you would know the problem. IDE controller
problems are rare however.

Lastly, I would not write off the possibility of the HD showing signs
of being flaky. The HD diagnostics are fine, but they do not test the
drive as thoroughly as repetitive use does.

"Ken" <> wrote in message
news:Uwrfd.31178$...
| Kylesb wrote:
|
| > Anyone seen a k7s5a act flakey on cold boot, specifically HD
access
| > problems until the system gets warm(er)? Using win2k sp4 on a WD
800JB
| > 80 gig HD.
| >
| > If I attempt a normal bootup, nearly every time the NT bootloader
is
| > not read properly, or files are not loaded properly, I get all
types
| > of weird boot errors, all types of strange stuff. I run the WD
| > diagnostics on the HD from a floppy boot, and the test shows no
| > problems. If I initially bootup and run the diagnostics from
floppy
| > on the HD, then soft boot, the system boots fine.
| >
| > Just wondering if anyone else has seen a cold boot/IDE warmup
problem
| > with a k7s5a. I had used the HD with another mobo for a short
spell
| > and saw no such problems with it at that time. Have not gone back
to
| > test the HD with the other mobo as yet.
| >
|
| It sounds like you have done your homework, but I would wonder about
| your power supply. What size is it? If you have not already done
so, I
| would try another IDE cable for that drive as well. Also, you might
| remove and re-install your RAM. You could have a location in RAM
that
| is not behaving correctly when cold but works fine when warm.

PS is brand new 420W Raidmax/Scorpio case.

Ram is Crucial 512 Meg PC3200 running at pc2100 speeds.

Full memtest86 tests on the ram show nothing but good tests.

The kicker is this: if the system has been up and running for a
spell, a shutdown/restart is always successful, no problems in booting
up win2k. That's why I think it's a temp/warmup problem. Only on
cold boot is there any snafu.

|
| Of course you could really have an IDE controller problem, but that
| might be established if you were to change the HD to the secondary
| controller rather than the primary. Your computer should boot up,
and
| if your problem went away, you would know the problem. IDE
controller
| problems are rare however.
|
| Lastly, I would not write off the possibility of the HD showing
signs
| of being flaky. The HD diagnostics are fine, but they do not test
the
| drive as thoroughly as repetitive use does.

Repetitive use after bootup does not appear to show any problems. I
suppose the HD itself could have a warmup problem. Further testing is
required, lol.

Kylesb wrote:

> "Ken" <> wrote in message
> news:Uwrfd.31178$...
> | Kylesb wrote:
> |
> | > Anyone seen a k7s5a act flakey on cold boot, specifically HD
> access
> | > problems until the system gets warm(er)? Using win2k sp4 on a WD
> 800JB
> | > 80 gig HD.
> | >
> | > If I attempt a normal bootup, nearly every time the NT bootloader
> is
> | > not read properly, or files are not loaded properly, I get all
> types
> | > of weird boot errors, all types of strange stuff. I run the WD
> | > diagnostics on the HD from a floppy boot, and the test shows no
> | > problems. If I initially bootup and run the diagnostics from
> floppy
> | > on the HD, then soft boot, the system boots fine.
> | >
> | > Just wondering if anyone else has seen a cold boot/IDE warmup
> problem
> | > with a k7s5a. I had used the HD with another mobo for a short
> spell
> | > and saw no such problems with it at that time. Have not gone back
> to
> | > test the HD with the other mobo as yet.
> | >
> |
> | It sounds like you have done your homework, but I would wonder about
> | your power supply. What size is it? If you have not already done
> so, I
> | would try another IDE cable for that drive as well. Also, you might
> | remove and re-install your RAM. You could have a location in RAM
> that
> | is not behaving correctly when cold but works fine when warm.
>
> PS is brand new 420W Raidmax/Scorpio case.
>
> Ram is Crucial 512 Meg PC3200 running at pc2100 speeds.
>
> Full memtest86 tests on the ram show nothing but good tests.
>
> The kicker is this: if the system has been up and running for a
> spell, a shutdown/restart is always successful, no problems in booting
> up win2k. That's why I think it's a temp/warmup problem. Only on
> cold boot is there any snafu.
>
> |
> | Of course you could really have an IDE controller problem, but that
> | might be established if you were to change the HD to the secondary
> | controller rather than the primary. Your computer should boot up,
> and
> | if your problem went away, you would know the problem. IDE
> controller
> | problems are rare however.
> |
> | Lastly, I would not write off the possibility of the HD showing
> signs
> | of being flaky. The HD diagnostics are fine, but they do not test
> the
> | drive as thoroughly as repetitive use does.
>
> Repetitive use after bootup does not appear to show any problems. I
> suppose the HD itself could have a warmup problem. Further testing is
> required, lol.
>

Did you try moving the IDE cable to the secondary controller??

"Kylesb" <> wrote in message news:...
[snip]
> The kicker is this: if the system has been up and running for a
> spell, a shutdown/restart is always successful, no problems in booting
> up win2k. That's why I think it's a temp/warmup problem. Only on
> cold boot is there any snafu.
[snip]

Once it is up and running well, if you shut it down for 5+ minutes, will it
still boot up OK?
If it only boots fine with a reboot, then the drives are still spinning and
don't require much power to put them back up to speed.
This is an indication of a weak power supply.
It takes more power to start a HDD from a standstill than it does to just keep
it spinning.

"Buffalo" <eric(nospam)@nada.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:MzAfd.320159$3l3.126951@attbi_s03...
|
| "Kylesb" <> wrote in message
news:...
| [snip]
| > The kicker is this: if the system has been up and running for a
| > spell, a shutdown/restart is always successful, no problems in
booting
| > up win2k. That's why I think it's a temp/warmup problem. Only on
| > cold boot is there any snafu.
| [snip]
|
| Once it is up and running well, if you shut it down for 5+ minutes,
will it
| still boot up OK?
| If it only boots fine with a reboot, then the drives are still
spinning and
| don't require much power to put them back up to speed.
| This is an indication of a weak power supply.
| It takes more power to start a HDD from a standstill than it does to
just keep
| it spinning.
|
|

There is little hardware in the system, not much load, PS voltages
look good. Today, I merely booted up with a DOS floppy for 5 mins,
then did a softboot and win2k booted ok. Ran some HD benchmarks, no
problems reported, speeds look appropriate. When I get some time I'll
open the case, swap the cable and try the second IDE interface and see
what happens. It's clear there are HD read errors when the system is
cold, just not sure what who the culprit might be as of this time.

Tried a 5 minute shutdown/restart and the system failed to boot, but
a single reset and it booted just fine. When it's cold, multiple
resets do not "cure" the problem. I am beginning to like the comments
of one poster who sed WD HDs have some compatibility problems,
particularly maybe with a board that does such a quick POST like the
k7s5a. Previously, the HD was connected to an Nforce2 mobo and had no
problems.
--
Best regards,
Kyle

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 14:48:14 -0500, "Kylesb" <> wrote:
>
>The kicker is this: if the system has been up and running for a
>spell, a shutdown/restart is always successful, no problems in booting
>up win2k. That's why I think it's a temp/warmup problem. Only on
>cold boot is there any snafu.
===>
>Repetitive use after bootup does not appear to show any problems. I
>suppose the HD itself could have a warmup problem. Further testing is
>required, lol.


Something to try is relaxing the HD settings in the BIOS setup.

If the SMART is turned off, turn it on or vice versa. Definitely turn
off the IDE Prefetch. You can also progressively change the Auto
settings to turn off the DMA in BIOS and lower the interface speed to
a lower mode. This is just for troubleshooting to see what works.
Check the block mode/LBA settings.

It might also be helpful to delete the disk drive from the Windows
control panel and let it re-discover automatically with PNP. Sometimes
it will come up with a different drive type, 47, etc. (you will have
to reset DMA in Win).

The important advice is to back up your drive while it is still
running. If it stops this is what most people wish they did!