OC BIOS Settings Keep Getting Lost

[Biggusdoggus]

Ok, pretty much 100% confirmed. It's the video card.

After removing it completely and running the display through the mobo to a TV, cold booting is working fine, both with stock and o/c settings.
I also uninstalled all Radeon software etc.

I seem to recall I updated the GPU bios a couple of months back, as I couldn't get the DisplayPort to work with a replacement monitor. I can't be certain at all, but maybe the issues with the old mobo started around then? I don't know for certain.

Is it possible that if I go back to the earlier bios version that may resolve the issue?

 

[trents]

How old is your PSU?

 

[Biggusdoggus]

How old is your PSU?

My previous one was probably 5 years old, this one, not sure.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Ok, pretty much 100% confirmed. It's the video card.

After removing it completely and running the display through the mobo to a TV, cold booting is working fine, both with stock and o/c settings.
I also uninstalled all Radeon software etc.

That doesn't mean it's the card.
The card is probably your biggest power draw in your rig. By removing it you just took a big load off the PSU.
You need to test with a known good GPU, or a known good PSU. Either or.

 

[Biggusdoggus]

That doesn't mean it's the card.
The card is probably your biggest power draw in your rig. By removing it you just took a big load off the PSU.
You need to test with a known good GPU, or a known good PSU. Either or.

Fair point. Although the PSU I am using now is a Cooler Master 650w, which is more than grunty enough, and according to the previous owner, he had zero issues with it.

 

[wingman99]

Ok, update.

I had the pc off, with the power unplugged, overnight. Turn it on this morning, and as expected, 1 beep, one splash, and the o/c settings are retained.
I shut down, kept the power plugged in, boot back up and....all good! 1 beep, settings retained etc!
I try another couple of times, and still everything is fine.


But....I shut down, and maybe 45 minutes later start up again....2 beeps, 2 splash screens, o/c and bios settings gone. Wtf?

To clarify, all I have remaining from the prior build, where I was having the same issues, is the cpu, video card, ssd's and usb peripherals (mouse, keyboard & printer).

Could it be something to do with the video card? And if so, why the whole "disconnect power it works" and "works for a short period of time then doesn't again"?

You might have a unstable overclock. Try increasing the Vcore. Are you overclocking the memory?

 

[Biggusdoggus]

You might have a unstable overclock. Try increasing the Vcore. Are you overclocking the memory?

Thanks wingman.

Actually, I should have made it clearer. The bios is resetting whether I have o/c'ed the CPU or not (and no, I'm not overclocking the RAM).

And the unplugging the power turns out to be a red herring. Makes no difference.

So, in a nutshell...either on even minimal overclocking, or on default bios settings (makes no difference, even with a proven rock solid overclock), after shut down and starting up, the bios resets and when I go into it I need to reset the language. But not the date or time etc. So it's not the CMOS (I imagine).

This was happening with my previous build as well. I have then replaced the mobo, the RAM and the PSU, retaining the video card, SSD and CPU.

So it's unlikely to be the PSU or the RAM (which I have also MemTested).

A new point, however, is that it doesn't happen every time. Last night when testing, for example, I could shut down and start up for half dozen or so times, including a couple of times with a moderate overclock, and no problems with the bios at all.

Then, it started resetting. I put the bios settings back to optimised defaults, and it still happened.

The only thing I can say with reasonable certainty is that with the video card removed, and just using the onboard graphics through HDMI, there are no issues.

So, surely, it has to be something to do with the video card. Surely. But what? And why not all the time (although, to be fair, probably 90% of the time)?

A reminder - old mobo was a GA-B85M-D3H, RAM a mixture of G.Skill and Adata (I know, I know), and an Enermax 500w PSU.
I now have a GA-Z97P-D3, Cooler Master 650w PSU and Kingston Hyperx Blu RAM. Combined with my existing G3258 CPU, RX470 G1 Gaming Video card, and a couple of SSD's.

 

[wingman99]

Post back what you find out when trying a different video card, this is interesting.

 

[Biggusdoggus]

Post back what you find out when trying a different video card, this is interesting.

Well, I don't have another video card, unfortunately. Good news is it's still under warranty (although it's performed flawlessly for a year). I'll probably take the rig to the store and get them to take a look at it.

 

[wingman99]

Post back what the store finds out.

 

[Biggusdoggus]

Ok - update. Card was sent away and I get it back nearly 4 weeks later, supposedly "repaired".

In that 4 weeks I was running the monitor through the onboard graphics. No boot issues, bios rock solid, startup to desktop in around 5 seconds.

I have just got the card back - first full start.....2 beeps, double splash screen, slow startup, and bios has reset. In other words, issue not fixed at all. $%%###$$@&!!!

So, back to the store I have to go, I imagine!

 

[wingman99]

Did the store test the Video card?

 

[Biggusdoggus]

Did the store test the Video card?

No idea. You would have hoped so! I have asked what it is they actually "repaired" No response as yet.
I suppose its a bit tricky to test. Its not as if the card is actually dead or similar.

 

[Biggusdoggus]

Interesting.

So I had a thought - is it possible the issue is with the monitor, or more specifically, using the DisplayPort?

I have a HDMI (video card) to VGA (monitor) cable, so have tried that. So far, 3 startups have been fault free.

Is that actually a "thing"? Could it really be a DisplayPort issue?

 

[trents]

The Profiles are there specifically for this reason. Anytime the CMOS would get cleared, you would lose everything. Having a profile allows you to easily revert to settings.

Glad it worked for you

But that ignores his problem. He should not have to create a profile to have the most recent changes to bios retained after he unplugs the machine. The fact that the time and date are retained accurately does not negate the possibility that the CMOS battery is bad. These newer EUFI machines seem to retain that even when you clear the CMOS with the jumper. I think they get it directly from the Internet. I would replace the battery and I would also reflash the bios.

 

[wingman99]

Interesting.

So I had a thought - is it possible the issue is with the monitor, or more specifically, using the DisplayPort?

I have a HDMI (video card) to VGA (monitor) cable, so have tried that. So far, 3 startups have been fault free.

Is that actually a "thing"? Could it really be a DisplayPort issue?

Could be the Display port on the card or monitor, also could be the cable. I hope you have it fixed this time.

 

[Biggusdoggus]

Could be the Display port on the card or monitor, also could be the cable. I hope you have it fixed this time.

Confirmed. And what the hell? After all that drama it turns out it was simply the DisplayPort cable. Not even the port on the card.

I swapped the cable out for another (higher quality, not-off-ebay) one and the problem has disappeared.

Who would have thought that would be a thing - the cable must have been causing a short or something somewhere, which didn't happen all the time (but at least 80% of the time), and only when fully powering back up.

Odd. It does make a me laugh a little though - what exactly did the supplier "repair", I wonder?

 

[wingman99]

Sounds good, glad you found the problem.

 

[trents]

Biggus, that is really weird!