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CMOS Troubles

S

steve4433

n00b
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
20
Hi Ive just built a brand new system from scratch. I had a few problems. The main one being that suddenly the computer wouldnt book proberly and the screen just woulnt come on at all. I reset the cmos and wahey the screen comes on and it all boots up fine. However as soon as you restart it it does it again (screen doesnt turn on etc). If i reset the cmos then i can turn it on again! Ahhhh. After the cmos has been reset it sometimes sais cmos checksum bad and date / time wrong that kind of thing with options to load defaults or setup the bios. Ive tried both. Also ive updated the bios, and installed all the mother board drivers. Ive tried unplugging various thing and have run it with only one stick of ram, and the graphics card plugged in, still the same. HELP! Is it a faulty mbord?

This is the system:

AMD 64 3200
ASUS K8V
1024 Corsair RAM
120 SATA Maxtor Hard Drive
550 wt PSU
Ati Radeon
DVD/CDrw drive
Everything else (sound, lan) on board

Any ideas as im stuck.

Thanks

Stephen
 
A bad or weak CMOS battery can do strange things. Once the voltage is below 3.0 volts change it. Also if you have the CMOS reset jumpers in the wrong position then that can cause a lot of problems as well.
 
What is the cmos battery is that just the main system battery? Should it need changing on a new mb, shall i send it back. Also how can the cmos jumper be in the wrong position, surely theres only one way it can go (aside from the reset position). If not ive got alot to learn!

Thanks for the help
 
In my experiences, if the CMOS was in the reset position when booting, it would not boot at all. (Remember, that's just my experiences with an IS7 board). If you getting the checksum error; sounds like it's not resetting properly. Try switching the battery, shouldn't be too expensive and save the trouble of RMA'in the board.

Double check you are resetting it correctly BTW. Not doubting your knowledge here, just double check for the sake of it.

Also, make sure you leave it in the reset position, with the power on (not booted, just the power supply switch to on), for at least a minute. Mine doesn't take that long, but you never know.

Edit: Don't know if it matters if the power is on when resetting the CMOS, but that's just the way I've always done it, and never had any problems.
 
Umm Nano,
Its been my understanding (from reading multiple different motherboard manuals) that you should always disconnect power from the PSU when resetting the bios, some even go so far to say that you should disconnect the ATX cabling when resetting the CMOS jumper. From my personal experience, this was driven home when I had a Shuttle AK31 rev 2.0 which was having problems. I forgot to unplug the PSU and I put the CMOS jumper into the reset/clear position and the computer started to power on --that was a trip too. Not sure if that was related to that motherboards eventual demise (a couple days later), but I never was able to get that board stable with anything (it was replaced by a Epox 8KHA+ which worked much better on the same components). Anyway, I would suggest if you are going to be reseting the CMOS/BIOS that you unplug your computer and wait a few seconds for any charged caps to drain before doing so, wait 5 seconds or so for the CMOS to be reset, then put the jumper into normal position and plug things back in and restart.

On your new K8V motherboard, the cmos battery is the little shiny disk-like (think watch battery) metal thing located between your yellow PCI slots and the blue IDE connector that is wedged between the SATA connectors. You can get a replacement battery at any RadioShack or electronics store, possibly even a grocery store if its a common model used in watches or something. The model of the battery you need will be imprinted on the battery in the motherboard so all you need to do is get one with the same model # (brand doesn't matter).
 
Thanks for the help guys ill try a new battery and let you know how i get on.

I have followed the instructions for resetting the cmos in the mb manual. Also from my experience of two or three mbs it has always said to remove the power cord and when resetting it leave it in the reset position for 5 to 10 secs. I have to admit too that i have actually tried to power the computer on with the jumper still in the reset position! Doh! This is mainly due to the fact that many a late night has been spent on this dam thing and i tend to make dum mistakes when im tired, maybe ill stop the late night sessions! When i tried to power it on tho it wouldnt let me, it just doesnt turn on, so hopefully no damage done.
 
After you disconnect the power cable from the wall, and before you remove the CMOS battery, hold the system power button in for about 5 seconds, this will ground the mobo.

THEN remove the CMOS battery and clear the CMOS.
 
Well I stand corrected. Thanks for correcting me! I would hate for someone to electricute themselves, let alone me and my "reset CMOS" tactics.

Power will be pulled from now on. :)
 
Ok Ive tried changing the battery and still the same thing. Dam it. Any more inspirational ideas? Shall I just send the mb back?

Thanks all the same, it was worth a try.
 
You might try finding the latest bios available for that motherboard and flashing to it. Perhaps there is a fix for your problem in a later revision bios. When you flash, remember to set it so that it will clear CMOS DMI and PNP settings (long story behind that advice). Also make sure that any special instructions provided by the manufacturer with regard to flashing bios's is followed closely.
 
I downloaded the latest version of the bios and updated it, is that the same as flashing to it?
 
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