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Hi guys. How are ya's? Well anyway, what is going on doesn't make much sense to me. When I play a video through AOL here lately my sound seems to be faster then the video is. I haven't been able to figure this out. I've tried changing the settings with Real Player, I've looked into the Bios settings to see if anything has changed, I've checked my hardware drivers for conflicts, checked my firewall to make sure that it is working correctly. I've even restarted my computer several times and still with no luck. While I was in my Bios settings I noticed that the "system bios cacheabe" was set to disable. I checked my mobo manual and set it to "enabled" . Did I do right with it? The mobo is K7S5A Pro. Anyway this still didn't help the problem with the sound. It only seems to do this with AOL. I can play videos on windows media player and real one player without a hitch. Any suggestions???

I do have anti virus But I don't have it set to scan in the background. Whenever I download anything I save it first and then scan it before I open it. And I already did a deep scan of everything. I also used Adaware and Spybot S&D. They all came up with nothing. When I used Adaware, I set it for a deep scan as well.

I think maybe AOL screen everything for you. Think I saw that on a ad. Try using a smaller screen size for the video. This will tell you if you are overtaxing your vid card.

if its dial up then its because sound is "lighter" than video and gets to your computer first.. therefore video may be choppy, skippy, and behind just because of hte connection speed.. i have the same problem, but i dont watch any videos cept for maybe a flash or something which is fine because its pre-loaded into your temp files. whereas with video on aol its being streamed to you live, forcing it to rebuffer and causing sound and video to be off sync. could be something different but i think thats it... anyways only solution i know is to upgrade to high speed internet.

Hi cooldj715 & OTheHill, I do have high speed. I use comcast cable. What I don't understand it that it use to work correctly. I don't even know when it started to mess up. For a little while I was having a problem with my firewall and AOL working together. When I would sign on to AOL I would get the dialogs from my firewall asking to allow to connect. Of course, I selected "yes". But one of the strange things is that when it would ask me about the ATW driver and I selected "yes" my computer would restart on it's own. Now it seems that I have all the bugs worked out between the firewall and AOL but now it's what's going on with the sound. One other thing is I have a K7S5A pro mobo and when I got the cpu for it I went by the specs. on it. All it stated was Duron, Athlon & Athlon XP. So I got a Duron 1.6 266 fsb. After I looked in the mobo manual it stated a Duron up to 1.2 200 fsb.When I set it in Bios for 1.6 everything works great but AOL. It will load slower and the video and sound on the video stinks. All else with AOL works great. Pages load good and so forth. But I did reset it back to 1.2. Could this have caused any of the problem???

I really don't think the processor is an issue. I can't really say what is going on. Ist does sound like an AOL or firewall problem. If I can detour a bit? Why do you use AOL for broadband? If AOL can supply broadband you should be able to get it directly from whoever AOL buys the service from. I don't think they own any cable or phone companies. Next issue, you can probably fix any problems with that 1.6 duron. The latest BIOS release was one to fix problems with 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 durons on thea platform. That BIOS # is 30811 and the release date was 8/25/03. You would need to flash your BIOS. I am not 100% sure if the BIOS I referenced is the correct BIOS for your Mboard. If it isn't then a different on will still fix the problem. I would suggest that you flash your BIOS. To determine which BIOS you now have, watch the POST screens as they go by. You will see an AMI with a date flash in the upper left corner I believe. Download and run aida32. This will also give you the BIOS version(date) and should give the version of the MB. There were multiple versions of the original board plus the pro version or versions. You need to verify the exact model and version of your Motherboard. This info is also printed on the PCB itself. The address for the BIOS is below:
http://www.ecsusa.com/downloads/k7s5a_pro.html

Little off topic-or maybe not.
Get rid of AOL. Plain old dial up works better/faster/without all the ads. Broadband is even better as long as u leave out the AOL. So to sum up. AOL is likely the culprit here. Get rid of it. Just my humble opinion.
Jim

Thank you guys. I will try what you have suggested. As for AOL, I have Comcast Cable internet and I know that I don't need AOL. But my kids are the only reason why I keep it. I, myself, could do without it and it would save me $15 a month.
I do have Aida32 so I will check for the mobo and cpu ID. I am worried about flashing the bios because I have heard horror stories about it and that is one thing that I haven't tried to attempt yet but I do know that I will have to do it some day, whether it is now or later.
Thanks again, guys.

Flashing the BIOS is not to be taken lightly. Normally if your hardware and software all function fine, there is no reason to flash. In your case there is. Do a little reading up on it and you will then feel more comfortable with it. It does seem that you have issues that should be corrected with a BIOS update. Computers are funny, your present problems may well be something to do with this BIOS.

That's what I'm doing first,OtheHill. I'm reading up on it through ECS's site and printing out the info so I will have it handy just in case I need to look at it. On the mobo it shows K7S5A PRO revision 5. Is this what they are talking about knowing the correct revision number?? And I'm not going to do this until I know that I am comfortable enough with it.

That is the info you need to download the correct BIOS update. When you do download the BIOS files, be sure to get the correct flash program for the file. Go to the download area and look at BIOS. The file I mentioned is the one that corrects problems with durons. They wouldn't have a BIOS for that if there wasn't a problem. Flashing the BIOS from a floppy isn't hard, just a little scary the first time. Don't let anyone talk you into doing it from windows. Also, you will have an option when actually flashing to save the old BIOS file, do that. Make sure the weather is nice. The one thing that can kill your Mborad is a power interruption during the flash. Actual flash time is only a minute or two.

The BIOS file that you are talking about was made 9 days after my board was. My understanding is the same as yours. If there wasn't a problem they wouldn't of made a BIOS update. From what I can see the file you are talking about should be the correct one. What I am trying to understand is where am I suppose to extract the bios update to? The floppy, correct?

When I did the floppy I only had the fat file system showing. Will this matter since I have NTFS??

ok. Last night I gave it a shot. This is what happened. I put the floppy in and started my computer. It then showed A:\>. So I typed in "dir" and hit enter. Then it showed what files were on the floppy. There were 15 files total. Afterwards it showed A:\> again. Then I typed in aminf335(space) 030811.rom
Then the strange thing happened. After it searched for everything all my lettering went red. What it said was error 2, file not found. I typed it again thinking that maybe I typed it wrong the first time and it still came up with the same thing. I hit esc and nothing. I tried typing in exit, exit setup, typed esc and still nothing. I could not get out of it. Then I finally figured that it was $36 that I paid for the mobo. Wasn't happy about the next step I did but I then took the floppy out and hit the reset button on my computer. I was amazed that it started as if nothing was done. After it started back up I then checked to see what files was on my floppy. The system files, flash utility and the bios update. What I also noticed was that the Bios file showed as 030811S.rom
When I typed it in I didn't put the "S" because it didn't show this on the file I had downloaded. Could this of been the problem?? When I did the floppy. I right clicked on the aminf335 file and selected "send to A:" I then extracted the bios update to the floppy. Did I do this correctly. And Thanks OTheHill for keeping up with me on this.

Michelle67
Did you download and read the flash utility how to flash file. The page that has the correct BIOS file also has a link called AMI flash. Both are side by side. The flash file is a link to another page with links to 2 files: How to flash *** and flash utility. The how to flash gives you detailed instructions on how to prepare the floppy, how to copy the files, how to flash the BIOS, etc. Save the how to to your desktop and download both the flash utility. Also download the BIOS file. That file should have a bin extension.

The bios file that I downloaded has an .exe extention. I did read the "how to" on the site and downloaded it and then printed it out. But what it shows for the floppy is for win98 not xp. If it also says that win 2000/ME can't make a boot disk, is it really possible to make a good XP boot disk since Xp came out after the other two?

You can download a boot disk from boot disk.com or lots of other places. Sorry I didn't even think about that. When you are done with the floppy you eventually will set your BIOS to boot to floppy and that will open the flash process. I would suggest you download a boot disk file from bootdisk.com and use it as the basis for your flash disk.

I looked at bootdisk.com and downloaded the boot file for xp home sp1 and ran it. It said that I would need 6 floppies. What should I do? This as annoying. I am thinking about getting an Athlon 2400 2.0ghz/266 fsb. I know the mobo will support it according to the manual. I can't find a way to make a single boot disk for xp. Hey, why can't I use any boot disk if I'm not trying to start windows? Is it possible?

Don't dispare, just download the win98 boot disk. All that you want or need on the boot disk are the following files:
Msdos.sys
Command.com
Io.sys
Msdos.sys
We'll get this done for you.

I just looked at my post and typed one file name twice and left out one. Sorry about that.
Command.com
Drvspace.bin
Io.sys
Msdos.sys

These are the files that were put on the floppy by XP:
DISPLAY
EGA2.CPI
EGA3.CPI
EGA.CPI
KEYB MSDOS APPLICATION
KEYBOARD
KEYBRD2
KEYBRD3
KEYBRD4
MODE MSDOS APPLICATIONNow the floppy let me go as far with the bios update as
A:\>aminf335 030811.romthen that is when it went nuts and turned all red lettering. After I have thought about it, if the floppy wasn't any good for boot up then why did it let me go that far?

Are you saying that you attempted the flash? If so, is the computer OK? Just Download a win98 boot file and use the four files I listed. The other files are files necassary to run windows and not to just boot from a floppy. That is the only purpose of those files. Then after you have the floppy prepared, follow the instructions for copying the rest of the files to the floppy. Before you sataaar redoing the floppy, format it.

In response #15 I wrote that I had tried it and what took place with it. And yes, my computer is fine, thanks for asking. When I re-did the floppy I did format it again first. When it was done I then selected "Create a MS-DOS start up disk" and the files that it put on the floppy are in response #23. Are you sure that you want to continue to help me with this, I know this is taking alot of time up.

That isn't a problem. It doesn't matter where those 4 files come from. If you get a win98 boot disk file from bootdisk.com there will be more files than just those four in the folder. Just use those four. thats all.

Michelle67 wrote:
> If it also says that win 2000/ME can't make
> a boot disk, is it really possible to make
> a good XP boot disk since Xp came out after
> the other two?Windows XP does allow you to make a DOS boot disk.
1. Insert floppy disk
2. Open "My Computer"
3. Right-click on "3-1/2 Floppy (A:)"
4. Select "Format"
5. Check "Create an MS-DOS startup disk"
6. Select "Start" buttonThe disk created is a Windows ME boot disk. It can't read NTFS partitions but that should not a problem since you do not need to access the hard drive anyways.It has 868K free.

Well I tried it again. So far it's been good to me because my computer has been restarting afterwards. When it gets to chipset type mine should be showing SIS 735 but it shows SIS/SB. What's this about? I know it is SIS 735 because I checked in system devices and Aida32. I get as far as:
chipset type - sis/sb (which is incorrect)
flash part - winbondThis is as far as it will let it go. I extracted the bios update to the floppy and the ami flash utility was copied (sent it to). Have I done anything wrong?

Tried what again? Flashing the BIOS? Did the screens indicate a sucessful flash? When the flash completed, did you immediately enter the BIOS and set all screens to default as instructed? What BIOS versions shows in AIDA32 when you check MB properties?

Yes, I did try the flash again and no, I don't think it is letting me in to do the flash.Take a look at this. I used a utility from AMI's site to help identify my BIOS.
AMIBIOS Motherboard Manufacturer Identification
Version 1.4 (01/12/2004) Copyright 2003 American Megatrends, Inc.This file has recorded information useful in identifying the manufacturer
of this motherboard. The information is listed below:An AMIBIOS ID String Was Detected:
62-0811-001131-00101111-040201-SiS735
- ---- ------ ------
| | | |
| | | Chipset/BIOS Info
| | BIOS Build Date
| Manufacturer ID
BIOS ROM Information
AMIBIOS ROM Size: 256 KB
BIOS Build Date: Apr 02 2001
Motherboard Manufacturer Code Detected: 1131 - ELITGROUP
Please Consults ELITGROUP for supportAMIBIOS Build Tag: K7S5A
AMIBIOS Project ID: K7S5A Not listed in TAG.DAT fileFor more information on upgrading your BIOS go to http://www.ami.com/support/bios.cfm?refer=mbid
---------------------
SMBIOS info:
Manufacturer : ECS
Product Name : K7S5A
Version :
Serial Number:---------------------
AMIDIAG Suite tests and diagnoses every hardware subsystem on your PC!
A professional tool for developers, manufacturers and technicians.
Go to www.amidiag.com for more information on AMIDiag.It doesn't show a version that I can see. What do you think?

aida32 will tell you the current BIOS version. That is why I said to use it. I think it may be helpful if you describe exactly in detail all the steps you are taking to flash your BIOS.

I did try Aida32 and it didn't tell me the bios version. As strange as that sounds, but it didn't. And yes, I will explain in detail how I did the flash.
1.formatted floppy disk and then created a MS-DOS startup disk.
2.already downloaded the ami flash utility and bios update file 030811.
3.extracted update file to floppy.
4.bios update file I "sent to" a:
5.left floppy in drive and restarted computer.
6.after restart computer searched for boot.
7.boot reconized and OK from floppy drive
8.then showed A:\>, typed in "dir" and then pressed enter.
9. screen showed all files the were on the floppy including utility and update file.
10. showed A:\> again. Typed in aminf335 030811.rom and pressed enter.
11.then it showed chipset type: SIS/SB and flash part: winbond
It turns red and shows file not found with ERROR 2. It doesn't let me go any farther. The only way to exit it is to take out the floppy and restart the computer.

I am looking at your steps and I don't see where you placed the flash utility into the floppy disk. I just see the BIOS file there. The flash utility is aminf335.exe That file also needs to be on the floppy. List every file that is on the floppy disk.

aminf335
display
e030811s.rom
ega2.cpi
ega3.cpi
ega.cpi
keyb
keyboard
keybrd2
keybrd3
keybrd4
modeAll but aminf335 say what type file it is underneath. All the aminf335 shows is "aminf335". The only reason I knwo thst it is an application is because I right-clicked and went to properties.I downloaded this file but I didn't do anything other then send it to the floppy. I didn't open it.

Michelle 67
I need you to do these things. View the files on the flash floppy. click view> check details> select folder options> check show all files> uncheck hide file extensions for known file types. More files should be showing now. Delete all files from your floppy except the following:
aminf335.exe
Command.com
Drvspace.bin
E030811S.rom
Io.sys
Msdos.sys
Now, this disk should work to flash your BIOS if you in fact have a K7S5A pro ver5 MB
Try it again typing this exactly as I have it. A:\> aminf335 E030811S.rom
Note the E and S that you omitted and the spaces after> and 335. After a sucessful flash your computer will reboot. Make sure that you immediately enter the BIOS screens and reset all setting to default settings. Then finish booting to windows. After that you can reenter the BIOS and make any changes necessary. Good Luck

Well, OTheHill, I did get farther this time. But you won't believe this. There are two different flash utilities. One is 335 and the other is 336. If you go to this site you will see the other one for the same bios update. http://www.ecs.com.tw/download/dw_spec.asp?product_id=269
Any way, I tried the 336 utility and got as far as the "enter to continue" or "esc to abort". Nothing came up red this time but it showed the new bios the same as the old one (8-11-03). The new update was suppose to be 8-25-03 so I aborted. What would you have done?

335 is the flash utility for your BIOS. If you are interested, there is also a Winflash utility on the site that you could flash from within windows. Its 1 am here, Im going to bed.

Michelle67
This morning I read your last post again. If your BIOS file is 8/11/03, that is the last BIOS Update. It was released on 8/25/03 but the file name is E030811S.rom
So your BIOS date should be 8/11/03. You have the newest BIOS now.

I guess I really have put you through numorous post readings when I already had the newest Bios. What I don't understand is mu bios doesn't pick my cpu up as 1.6. When I load default settings it's at 1.2. But yet it will allow me to set it to 1.6(133/133). Now that it all that I am able to change because the voltgage seems to be set already. Anyway, I really want to thank you for taking all the time that you have with me on this. It has meant alot to know that when I check this post that you will probably have another response for me. Your name may be OtheHill but to me it's OtheMan.Get it? You the man. THANK YOU

Michelle67
I was thinking of something. If your processor is in fact a genuine duron1.6GB. it should show as such in the BIOS and in aida32. Have you checked in aida32 recently? I can't see why someone would do this but at one time there were some unreputable folks overclocking CPUs and remarking them. With the price of processors being what they are, I can't imagine anyone doing that now. That said, I would suggest that you download a program called SANDRA. This is a utility like aida32 plus much, much, more. There is a test in there to see how your processor performs. It gives reference results to compare to. I suggest that you run it and see if your processor performs like it should. Also, that program should identify your processor. I still can't understand why your BIOS does ID your CPU as a 1.6 duron.

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