1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Asus P5Q-E mobo that doesn't keep BIOS settings

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by chevalier, Apr 2, 2009.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2002
    Messages:
    16,815
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    Remove all ads!
    As per title. This is the third battery, so it can't be it. Probably not insufficient PSU or I would notice other problems. The config goes like this:

    E7200 (2.53 GHz)
    2*2GB DDR2/800 (A-Data Vitesta)
    Samsung F1 640 GB
    Radeon HD 4850
    Asus combo drive
    Tagan U33 500W (the first and worse version, not the improved one, as far as I can tell)

    I had worse problems but upgrading the BIOS helped (initially, even installing Windows was awfully difficult and BIOS wouldn't initially overwrite). Now it loses BIOS settings when the computer is off the electricity for a while and sometimes also after changing the settings. It's not like it simply forgets them, though. I get an F2 message, kinda like the old checksum failed.

    Though maybe someone would have an idea.
     
    chevalier, Apr 2, 2009
    #1
  2. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2003
    Messages:
    8,252
    Media:
    82
    Likes Received:
    238
    Gender:
    Male
    I have the same problem with my Gigabyte 6-Quad mainboard. I called Gigabyte and the guy told me that I needed to change the battery, and I never did. I just keep current in it when it's powered down. When the power goes out I have to reset the BIOS, but that's not very often.

    I realize you just changed the battery but the Gigabyte rep told me that if changing the battery didn't do the trick, then the board is defective and has a short in it somewhere. I don't know if he was right or not, since I just live with it. Maybe one day I will change the battery just to see...
     
    Chandos the Red, Apr 3, 2009
    #2
  3. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2002
    Messages:
    16,815
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    I suspect the mobo is defective, yeah... But I just can't take being cut off for a longer while. :S Would have to part with the computer for a month to go through RMA and I just can't afford that on any level.
     
    chevalier, Apr 3, 2009
    #3
  4. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2002
    Messages:
    7,899
    Media:
    74
    Likes Received:
    96
    Gender:
    Male
    Does your board have a removable BIOS chip? I know it's kind of uncommon these days, but if it does, pop it out and re-seat it in its socket.
    My dad's old Compaq had this problem. It turned out that the temperature variations caused the chip to work its way out of the socket over the period of a few months. Re-seating it fixed the issue...for a few months at least.
     
    Kitrax, Apr 3, 2009
    #4

  5. Erod Gems: 14/31
    Latest gem: Chrysoberyl

     Veteran

    Joined:
    May 21, 2005
    Messages:
    652
    Likes Received:
    3
    A stupid question but one that has to be asked: Is the CMOS jumper set to normal (not clear)? It might also help if you told us the exact error message you get.
     
    Erod, Apr 3, 2009
    #5
  6. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2002
    Messages:
    16,815
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    Kitrax, I don't know. I'll have to check. What I know is it actually has two chips for auto-recovery purposes. In previous BIOS releases, it wouldn't properly upgrade and it would revert from the old one. Currently it at least upgrades.

    Erod, yeah, such things generally pass unnoticed. I'll take a look, though I doubt I'd have cleared the CMOS and left the jumper on clear.
     
    chevalier, Apr 4, 2009
    #6
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.