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Doubles
Guest
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 Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 10:03 pm Post subject: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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Hi,
My Godchild's computer started to smoke. She sent it to me. I got
the PC to start and noticed that indeed the MOBO was frying just to
the USB side of the CPU.
I have gone on the Web to try and find a good replacement MOBO. This
is a socket 462 with a VIA chipset. She has 3 memory slots and is
currently running 512 of Ram on 2 sticks. The Bios chip says "K7VZA
215" (PhoenixBios). I would appreciate it if somebody could direct
me.
T.I.A. |
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Brian Campbell
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 2:41 am Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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Because you have the older ram, about the only new board that uses SDram
is the K7S5a Pro, and that is being retired. Older boards based on the
KT133A chipset would be more compatable with the K7VZA, like the ASUS A7V
133, but you should do a clean install of your software anyway.
Doubles (Doubles@fsu.edu) wrote:
: Hi,
: My Godchild's computer started to smoke. She sent it to me. I got
: the PC to start and noticed that indeed the MOBO was frying just to
: the USB side of the CPU.
: I have gone on the Web to try and find a good replacement MOBO. This
: is a socket 462 with a VIA chipset. She has 3 memory slots and is
: currently running 512 of Ram on 2 sticks. The Bios chip says "K7VZA
: 215" (PhoenixBios). I would appreciate it if somebody could direct
: me.
: T.I.A. |
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Doubles
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 02:41:55 +0000 (UTC), aa356@chebucto.ns.ca (Brian
Campbell) wrote:
| Quote: | Because you have the older ram, about the only new board that uses SDram
is the K7S5a Pro, and that is being retired. Older boards based on the
KT133A chipset would be more compatable with the K7VZA, like the ASUS A7V
133, but you should do a clean install of your software anyway.
|
Thank you Brian. I found two K7s5a Pros on Ebay and put in a bid on
one of them this morning. I don't want to waste her 512K of Ram. I
appreciate the help. |
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Buffalo
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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"Doubles" <Doubles@fsu.edu> wrote in message
news:smjok0tcvvivh6ff50lni3utnb4cudi7bt@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 02:41:55 +0000 (UTC), aa356@chebucto.ns.ca
(Brian
Campbell) wrote:
Because you have the older ram, about the only new board that uses
SDram
is the K7S5a Pro, and that is being retired. Older boards based on
the
KT133A chipset would be more compatable with the K7VZA, like the
ASUS A7V
133, but you should do a clean install of your software anyway.
Thank you Brian. I found two K7s5a Pros on Ebay and put in a bid on
one of them this morning. I don't want to waste her 512K of Ram. I
appreciate the help.
|
When you get the K7S5a MB, you may have to do a clean install, thereby
wiping everything out of Windows and C: drive.
If possible, I would put her HDD into another computer ,as a slave'
and back up everything she might want to save.
It might install without a problem on the new MB without changing
anything with no 'clean' install required.
Also only install ONE stick of ram UNTIL you get it running properly.
(two sdram sticks sometimes causes a problem on the K7S5a MB)
Make sure you have all the necessary drivers and the OS disk.
Once you get it going, I would flash the BIOS to the HoneyX (google
for it) BIOS and, if the cpu is a 266MHz model (fsb of 133MHz), I
would set it at 138/138MHz which seems to help the stability of the
K7S5a esp while using two SDRam sticks.
I have a K7S5a MB with a XP2100+ and two unmatched sticks of SDRam and
I am happy with it.
I don't use the onboard sound and have it disabled in the BIOS.
However, the onboard LAN is great.
That MB should now be around $50 or less.
Buffalo |
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Doubles
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:04 pm Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 17:47:58 GMT, "Buffalo"
| Quote: | When you get the K7S5a MB, you may have to do a clean install, thereby
wiping everything out of Windows and C: drive.
If possible, I would put her HDD into another computer ,as a slave'
and back up everything she might want to save.
It might install without a problem on the new MB without changing
anything with no 'clean' install required.
Also only install ONE stick of ram UNTIL you get it running properly.
(two sdram sticks sometimes causes a problem on the K7S5a MB)
Make sure you have all the necessary drivers and the OS disk.
Once you get it going, I would flash the BIOS to the HoneyX (google
for it) BIOS and, if the cpu is a 266MHz model (fsb of 133MHz), I
would set it at 138/138MHz which seems to help the stability of the
K7S5a esp while using two SDRam sticks.
I have a K7S5a MB with a XP2100+ and two unmatched sticks of SDRam and
I am happy with it.
I don't use the onboard sound and have it disabled in the BIOS.
However, the onboard LAN is great.
That MB should now be around $50 or less.
Buffalo
Hi Buffalo, |
I burned her two CD's. One with all her critical files and one with
all her husband's mp3's. I also kept those files on one of my PC's
just in case.
I'm going to do a clean install and I'll do one stick at a time as you
suggest as well as flash the Bios. I have other sound cards if the
system sound sucks, so we will see.
The bid on ebay doesn't end for a day or so. When it does and if I
get the MOBO, I'll come back and update this thread to let you know
how everything went.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. |
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do_not_spam_me
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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Doubles <Doubles@fsu.edu> wrote in message news:<bmlmk05jp98g093pl57lna0c592nh9hk3m@4ax.com>...
| Quote: | My Godchild's computer started to smoke. She sent it to me. I got
the PC to start and noticed that indeed the MOBO was frying just to
the USB side of the CPU.
This is a socket 462 with a VIA chipset. The Bios chip says
"K7VZA 215"
|
A picture of a K7VZA motherboard can be seen here:
www.ocworkbench.com/hardware/elite/k7vza/Image007_copy.jpgxBios
From your description, the smoke seems to have come from the CPU
voltage regulator, consisting of 4 pairs of power MOSFETs and Schottky
diode packs (1/2" square black plastic blocks with wire leads
protruding from them) and 12 electrolytic capacitors (plastic-covered
aluminum cylinders, 8 in pairs below the transistors and diodes, 4
above them). If this is the case, I would strongly suggest replacing
all of those capacitors before they get worse and ruin any of the
MOSFETs or diodes, but the latter parts should be tested with an ohm
meter, in case any have already failed. New capacitors can be
purchased from www.mouser.com or www.bdent.com. They must be rated
for at least as much voltage, capacitance, temperature, and frequency
as the originals, and the diameters of the 8 lower ones may have to be
matched exactly because of room restrictions. The original components
are best unsoldered with a desoldering station, but a 50-watt iron
(not a gun, and 50W is not excessive for a 4-layer board because the
internal copper planes absorb huge amounts of heat) and some
desoldering braid will also work. Practice desoldering on an unneeded
4-layer board before tackling the motherboard because board damage
can occur if it's not done right. Make sure the leads have broken
free completely before pulling out their components. MOSFETs and
diodes don't have to match exactly but merely be the same type
(MOSFETs come in logic and regular versions and also N-channel and
P-channel versions and enhancement and depletion versions) and meet
voltage, amp, and wattage capacities. In practical terms, Schottky
diode packs are all the same for this use except for polarity -- some
have the cathodes tied to the center pin and the anodes connected to
the other pins, while others are reversed. Try not to buy NTE
substitute diodes or MOSFETs because they're more costly and sometimes
of inferior quality or not matched well enough. But because the
motherboard still works, those components are probably fine and are
simply being overtaxed due to faulty electrolytic capacitors. |
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Doubles
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: K7VZA Smokeing MOBO Help |
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On 20 Sep 2004 05:22:58 -0700, do_not_spam_me@my-deja.com
(do_not_spam_me) wrote:
| Quote: | From your description, the smoke seems to have come from the CPU
voltage regulator, consisting of 4 pairs of power MOSFETs and Schottky
diode packs (1/2" square black plastic blocks with wire leads
protruding from them) and 12 electrolytic capacitors (plastic-covered
aluminum cylinders, 8 in pairs below the transistors and diodes, 4
above them). If this is the case, I would strongly suggest replacing
all of those capacitors before they get worse and ruin any of the
MOSFETs or diodes, but the latter parts should be tested with an ohm
meter, in case any have already failed. New capacitors can be
purchased from www.mouser.com or www.bdent.com. They must be rated
for at least as much voltage, capacitance, temperature, and frequency
as the originals, and the diameters of the 8 lower ones may have to be
matched exactly because of room restrictions. The original components
are best unsoldered with a desoldering station, but a 50-watt iron
(not a gun, and 50W is not excessive for a 4-layer board because the
internal copper planes absorb huge amounts of heat) and some
desoldering braid will also work. Practice desoldering on an unneeded
4-layer board before tackling the motherboard because board damage
can occur if it's not done right. Make sure the leads have broken
free completely before pulling out their components. MOSFETs and
diodes don't have to match exactly but merely be the same type
(MOSFETs come in logic and regular versions and also N-channel and
P-channel versions and enhancement and depletion versions) and meet
voltage, amp, and wattage capacities. In practical terms, Schottky
diode packs are all the same for this use except for polarity -- some
have the cathodes tied to the center pin and the anodes connected to
the other pins, while others are reversed. Try not to buy NTE
substitute diodes or MOSFETs because they're more costly and sometimes
of inferior quality or not matched well enough. But because the
motherboard still works, those components are probably fine and are
simply being overtaxed due to faulty electrolytic capacitors.
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Now, that's what I call a response. Thank you very much for taking
the time to assist. I went ahead and got another MOBO from Ebay ($46
with shipping) and installed it last night. Everything is working
just fine and I'm in the process of getting all the important files
off the drive.
My godchild decided to order a Dell and asked that I donate the PC to
a someone who could use it. To that end, I put in a better video card
along with a 56K modem. It already had a NIC. It think it will run
fine with 512 Ram and a 40 Gig HD.
If anybody wants the old MOBO, I'll ship it to you for whatever the
shipping cost is. Just let me know. Otherwise, It's going in the
dump.
See ya |
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