System:

K7S5A Mainboard
128 MB Sdram
Geforce 2 400MX 64MB
1800+ AMD AthlonXP

Ok, I had my computer upgraded a few days ago, from a lousy celeron to something with a little more power, new mboard, new cpu.
Anyway, after running 98 I saw some freezing, so I decided it was time for a fresh start, to I cleared of my second hd and installed xp, updated the drivers etc. I thought that'd fix the problem.
But now I'm suffering from constant freezing, I dont know if its overheating or some sort of conflict, I tried disabling 3D accelaration completely, and disabled all my audio hardware.
It ussually occurs when I run something with a little 3d, like Stronghold or operation flashpoint, although its also happens wile I'm busy with my OS, even if I'm not running any high intensity software

Now I'm thinking it *could* be some sort of driver or irq conflict, but I updated everything known to man, and I'm still getting it...
So now I'm thinking overheating, I dont think its my cpu, its cooled like a fridge, maybe my geforce card, it doesnt have a fan, only a small heatsink-like contraption.

I'm totally frustrated, if anyone has advice pertaining to this, please help!

help me out here : is it a Via chipset ?
In that case you should trye the Via 1 in4 drivers ...
If not ...
What powersupply is powering your system ?
I hope it's 300 watts or more ?

I was mistaken ..
it's a SIS chipset ..
Still the powersupply could be the problem ...
read some more topics on the forum ...
a lott of K7S5A users there ...

Yeah its 300 Watts, although I'm not certain on whether its a Via chipset.. I dont think so though.

Yeah it is an SiS, but I dont think my power is the problem, brand new atx 300 watt

You really should read the others problems its the ram get some 256 ddr ram from kingston and the problem will dissapear............

Dont think thats it..
I've made an interesting discovery: Dont place your computer within 30cm of a heater running continueously day/night because the owner gets cold feet
I think by doing that I raised the temp by 10 C, before it was around 52 C, now its running at a steady 42 C.
Havent had anymore freezes, and to think I spent 1.5 days searching for software based conflicts..
Btw anyone know at what temp an AMD 1800+ AthlonXP cpu should run at?

I have the AMD 1700 XP overclocked as 1800.

My CPU runs normally at 45C.
During intense 3D gaming it gets up to 50C but it never freezes.

I even have the K7S5A mobo and a cheap Kbyte 512MB SDRAM stick.

I intend to buy the DDR everyone is recommending but, I'm waiting for the price to drop a little more.

Of course that BIG block of dry ice I set on top of my motherboard help keep the system cool!

Hello,
I too have the K7S5A motherboard,but I have XP 1600+ cpu and my cpu temp is around 130F I have been told by AMD that is normally running tempature. I leave the thing on all day and the temp doesn't get much higher.

At it's very lowest, my XP1800 will idle just after power up at about 43. After 4 and a half straight hours of Unreal Tournament the temp got up to about 54.

My XP1600+ runs at around 118°F under a full load. Are you quoting your full load or idle temperature, Rick? Either way, you could do better; what sort of cooling solution do you have? (Fan/Cooler/Case Fans?)

Ive got the K7S5A too and Im getting the constant freezing problems too in most 3d games.My computer is Athlon Xp 1600 with 512 SD RAM. First I used the Voodoo 3 2000 PCI, no freezing. Then I got the Geforce 2MX400 and my computer started to freeze very often. I tryed everything, updated everything, tryed different drivers, OS-s, nothing worked.

Then I got a stick of 512 SD RAM, with the Voodoo 3 and G2 I only had 128. When I used the 128 and 512 together, then everything freezed, even Windows. Then I took the old 128 out and only used the 512, then freezing was allmost gone, only sometimes OP Flashpoint freezed.

Now yesterday i got the Radeon 8500 64 DDRAM, and to my suprise my comp started to freeze again quite oftenly. WHY OH WHY?? The problem is indefinitley in the mobo or RAM, because I changed different videocards and OS-s.So should I buy some DDRAM then? Is there maby something in the BIOS that I can change?

Oh yeah, and on my processor I use an oridanry fan, it is usually about 60 C degrees. Maby the problem is with overheating? My Radeon has a rather small fan on it.I also use a 300 W powerbox or whats it called.

Bringing the temp down on your cpu would definitly be a good place to start...

Have you ever installed a heatsink fan on a CPU before??? If not then ask about the procedure... One slip and the M/board could be history...

There are also other factors that could be causing your freeze... As you add stuff to your machine your power requirements increase,you could be at your limit just to name one..

To answer your question about ddr ram... If you search through this forum you will find that the k7s5a loves DDR Ram... I am using Crucial DDR Ram... 1 stick of256 Non ECC Unbuffered and 1 stick of 512...

Your Power Box is a "Power Supply" PSU for short...

Slo...

I just downclocked my processor from 1400 to 1050 and the freezing is gone! Also the CPU temp is now about 51 degrees. So the problem was overheating. Im a now buying the Thermaltake Volcano 7 cooler which should bring the temp down to about 45-50 degrees and I know about installing a cooler. And Im still getting the DDRAM

Cool

Well I got the Thermaltake Volcano 7+ and have still experienced some freezing, but not much. The new cooler has 3 rpm levels, most of the freezing has been on the lowest level. The biggest level has a BIG noise, so the medium is the best. Im have a plan to completely cool down my case and put coolers everywhere, on my harddrives and memory. And Im getting the DDRAM which should also help.

try removing all unnecessary hardware, disable all motherboard add-one like sound,lan etc and test the system.
i suspect your RAM or CPU.
I had a freezing prob once and had to replace my RAM,CPU and mboard!!!

My computer used to crash shortly after starting any kind of 3d graphics based game. I eventually tracked this down to BIOS settings. By default, I think the "allocate IRQ to PCI VGA" is enabled. I do not think this wants to be enabled when an AGP graphics card is installed.

Also, if you do not not have the optional modem riser card (that sits in the small slot next to the AGP graphics) then you should probably disable that device in the integrated devices screen of the BIOS.

K7S5A owner here........
no probs w/ my nvidia mx 420 and (2) Crucial 128 sdram
except my sound is really funky. lots of popping and scratching
SB Live 5.1
help!

okay all of these theorys are great and would contribute do the hanging
of the k7S5A.. i had the same problem but corrected by tweaking the bios
,i flashed the bios and that didnt fix the problem so then i started the process of elimination and found that the problem was in the acpi function i tried disabling this feature because my pc stays on 24-7. after changing this is when the problems began. i also found that the advanced
pci function settings will also cause a hang problem, and one more thing is that amd dosent like to be overclocked, one of the main reasons for the cpu to be running at a high tempeture is that amd is somewhat overclocked already. so if you tried overclocking the system this could also be cause.. hope this is helpful