How to clear the CMOS when it won't

Well, I've done it: I broke my computer AGAIN!!!

Anyway, I've decided not to get mad about it, simply because it's not going to do any good and I have enough to be worried about right now. So I'd like to remain calm and see what happens.

Here's the deal:

Got RAM back from RMA, made sure it was not the same module I had before, and then popped it in, replacing the RAM that was in there.

Booted and checked BIOS to make sure all was right. Then decided to let it actually run at PC2700 speeds, as that's what it is supposed to do. As my XP was already running 12.5x133, running it 10x166 was only like 8 more MHz, so I didn't figure it would matter much, so those were the settings I set.

Rebooted, only to find that it won't boot. DOH! I think, clear CMOS and figure out why it didn't work. Did the jumper for ~10 seconds and fired it back up with no results. Jumpered again for like a minute, but no help. I know it's retaining old settings because, not only is it not booting, but it starts automatically when I turn on my surge protector (ie automatically start after power failure setting in BIOS), meaning the settings aren't forgotten. So what I need, I guess is to clear the CMOS. I don't want to screw around too much with any other ideas until I can be sure it's not the CMOS.

So the question is: How should I go about clearing the CMOS? I'm going to leave the jumper on the clear setting for a little while and see what's doin'. Probably won't help, but certainly won't hurt. Beyond that, what should I do? Take out the battery? What?

Thanks in advance

Z

are you sure you are connecting the right jumper? If that doesnt work. Try taking out the battery for a while. That should clear the settings. Other than that, i dont know what to say.

As mentioned taking out the battery and leaving it out for a while should work. Or you can try the jumper again but first make sure the power cable is unplugged from the PSU. Then move the jumper to the clear position, leave it there for 3-5 seconds then move it back. After its back in place plug your power back in and fire it up.

I'm sure it's the correct jumper (done it a dozen times at least) and I followed the power plug removal instructions from the manual. I've yet to try running it since I left the jumper off (it's still on the clear setting). It's probably been on long enough if it's going to do anything.

I knew that removing the battery was another option, but I have to ask why this would be better than the jumper. The jumper simply cuts power from the battery so that the CMOS "forgets" everything. Removing the battery does the same thing. So what's the difference? Am I wrong about the functioning of the clear CMOS jumper?

Thanks for the replies

Z

UPDATE:

Moved the jumper back to the normal position and hit the power button. Showed the logo screen (which is the factory standard, so I know it reset, at least partially) and then the screen went black and showed only a blinking underscore in the top left. Restarted and it turned on but did not boot. I assume I somehow didn't clear the CMOS completely, but I don't see how that's possible, nor why I could clear it in a few seconds before, and now it takes half an hour to only partially discharge the power that maintains the chip . . .

Any new suggestions? Is this indicative of some greater problem? I've moved the reset CMOS jumper back to the clear setting and will wait an hour or so and try again, and after that, I'm going to start swapping parts, though I REALLY don't want to. If this hunk of crap is broken, I'm going to be very angry.

I was just about to buy myself a computering present, and if I instead have to spend it on new replacement parts, I'm going to cry

Thanks

Z

Some motherboards have a "safe boot", for lack of a better way of describing it. Hold the delete key and then hit your power button. It should boot up and you should be able to get to your BIOS that way.

Let me know if it works.

It doesn't matter how long you leave the jumper in the "clear" position- it is having it there that matters.

Did you push the power button with the jumper in clear cmos position?
That should do it...if not, unplug the power cord and remove the battery.
Then plug the power cord back in....and power up
I have yet to see THAT fail! lol

Of course you will lose ANY settings you change in bios when you shut down to put the battery back in but the cmos WILL clear!

Note- I mentioned this procedure once in the past and a few people expressed concern that running without the battery might damage something: nope That's how I benchmark initial overclock settings (in case of lock ups) and in fact I ran one system that way for about 6 or 8 months.

Are you sure that the time period during which the jumper is in the clear position doesn't matter? I've tried to clear the BIOS previously and it didn't clear, but looking in the book, it said to leave it on for 5 to 10 seconds. I think the initial time period is for the power to completely discharge. I agree that the time beyond that is wasted, but I had no better ideas at the time.

I will try the delete key option, though.

I'm a little nervous about taking out the battery, though, as it says so clearly that improper installation might cause the battery to explode. I know if I just put it in the same way it is now, it'll be fine, but I've decided that it's not bad luck I have; I'm just a bad overclocker , so I don't think I'll have good luck with the whole thing.

Anyway, I left the jumper on clear for another half hour or so and tried again. Same welcome screen came on and it POSTed. I hit the Delete key so I could enter BIOS, and the screen was corrupt and only had one letter representing each menu and the arrow keys did nothing and the only sub menu I managed to see didn't say anything. Restarted and got nothing again.

I guess if the Delete key doesn't do it, I have no other option than the battery . . .

Thanks again

Z

Now that I put some thought into it, I think it might be the Insert key. First try the Insert key and then Delete. Sorry for the mix-up.

Will do. Don't particularly care which key it is, so long as it'll save me from spending money . . . This is what a BIOS Savior is for, I guess . . . Too bad I'm so cheap . . .

Thanks

Z

Also, are you really serious about running it without the battery? I've taken it out, but that's all I've done. I'm trying to only work on it in short periods so I don't get too frustrated.

Z

Edit- Holding down the delete key (and insert key) did not do anything. . .

Darn. I'm sure something will eventually work .

Sure hope so. I don't want to have to spend the money I saved for a laptop for college fixing this thing. I'm probably going to need both if I'm doing CAD.

Z

I am completely serious about removing the battery.
It doesn't happen all that often, but think about the fact that cmos batteries ARE removable....Why are they?
It is because they CAN wear out and die.
When that happens there is NO damage to the computer: you simply replace the battery

All the battery does is power the cmos so it can remember the current settings and allow the pc clock to continue tracking time/date data (simplified explanation.)

Yes, I really do remove the battery when I am first benchmarking a system for overclocking purposes: I frequently go too far
Going through all the hassles of moving jumpers back and forth, etc...well, it sucks!
So now when I am "dialing in" my overclocking settings I track all my settings with paper and pencil and I remove the battery.

WHEN (not IF) I lock the pc up because my oc was too high, all I have to do is unplug the pc and then turn it back on
CMOS is reset..

Like I said in my last post in this thread....people never believe me about cmos batteries

I have run my computer for weeks with no battery; it’s nothing to worry about.

I believe that running it without the battery won't cause damage, because your explanation of the purpose of the battery is correct. The battery only stores the data while the PC is off, so once it's on, it serves no function. I'm not worried about damage, I just was curious if it was a joke or not. In my fragile state, I would hate to have something blow up in my face because I couldn't take a joke . . .

If removing the battery (and then replacing it an hour later) doesn't do anything, will running it without a battery possibly make a difference? I haven't tried to run it yet, so I'm just curious if it's going to make a difference. Also, if the BIOS screen was corrupted, is there a chance the BIOS is corrupted? If so, how did it happen and how much is it going to cost to fix?

Z

It's a hardware problem . . .

I turned it on without the battery, and it showed the logo screen. It showed the processor as 6 hundred some-odd MHz, so I entered BIOS to change it and there were strange characters next to the clock setting. When I tried to change the time, nothing worked (it was frozen). Restarted and it only black screens. I don't think this is just a BIOS issue, as no battery would really take care of this.

Now that we know this, what are the choices? Logic states that the most recent addition before a failure would be the culprit, so I'll change my RAM back and see what happens. Would a computer issue a POST code if the CPU was dead? I guess that's a possibility too. I don't know what else could be broken, though. This doesn't point to video card problems or hard drive problems, as both seem to function normally and a busted hard drive wouldn't keep it from booting. The only thing I can think of that might cause this is bad RAM, CPU, or BIOS. If my BIOS is corrupt, where do I get a replacement? Biostar (no comments on quality. Only mATX NForce2 board at the time and works well for a lot of people)? I'd think that broken CPU or RAM would cause a POST code.

This has been a bad day: one physical, three shots, one broken computer and a broken promise of Circuit City later, I'm either or

Z

IF the bios is truly corrupt then the only fix is a new chip- this can happen, sometimes for no detectable reason although this is rare.

The only thing that happens differently when starting the pc with no battery is that it FORCES bios to load defaults; removing the battery for 15 minutes or so should do the same thing if the pc is unplugged.....but I have occasionally seen it not work at all in real stubborn cases.

If the bios is not destroyed, running the computer with no battery WILL work to reset defaults.
If running without the battery does NOT work the bios is dead and you need a new chip.

check your unlocking on the cpu

CPU is factory unlocked, so I'm sure that's not it.

Booting with no battery has no affect.

If BIOS is corrupt, but I can boot to a floppy (this is hypothetical; I haven't tried it), is it possible to flash the BIOS? Also, I read of a guy booting with a good BIOS, then removing it and replacing it with a bad BIOS and flashing that BIOS, then replacing the old BIOS. Would that work on two completely different boards? Does a BIOS flash detect the board it's being run on? Does this sound more dangerous than useful?

Is there any concensus on what's broken, here? Dead CPU, RAM, or BIOS?

Thanks for all the help, though.

Z