BIOS has amnesia - WTH

[Muse]

It's my main desktop, BEAUTY in my sig:

Basic specs:
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Gigabyte GA-K8n Pro motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (socket 754, FSB1600, E6, Venice, 90nm, L2-512KB)
BFG 6600 GTOC AGP video card
2 sticks Crucial 1GB PC3200 400MHz 184-pin DDR Memory - CT12864Z40B, 2 GB total
Corsair vx550w PSU
USR Model 2977 PCI hardware modem
Hercules GTXP soundcard PCI with breakout box
MyHD HDTV 120 HDTV PCI
MyHD HDTV 120 HDTV daughterboard

Windows XP SP3
- - - -

Has an Award BIOS.

I have it set up to turn on automatically every day at 11:52 PM, in the power management page of the Award BIOS. Sometimes for no apparent reason it stops turning on. I have to go into the BIOS and reset it, which sometimes makes it start honoring the setting again, sometimes not... don't know exactly what sets it right again. The last time it turned on automatically was ~10 days ago.

What could be up with this? It's a pretty old system. I bought it 2 years ago online, but it was probably built a long time before that, maybe 2003 or 2004 I'm guessing. So, I'm wondering if it might be an old CMOS battery. Should I replace that battery? What type would it be (I prefer not to have to remove the battery to find out what kind it is). Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Blazer]

its the old watch type hattery, 3.3v, can pickupem up at just about everywhere, part # CR2032, as seen here, walmart has em.

http://www.google.com/search?q=CR20...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

[Muse]

its the old watch type hattery, 3.3v, can pickupem up at just about everywhere, part # CR2032, as seen here, walmart has em.

http://www.google.com/search?q=CR20...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Thanks. I guess swapping out the CMOS battery with a fresh one is something to try. Don't know why else it would do that...

 

[Muse]

I just bought 6 CR2032 Maxells off ebay, $0.99 shipped! That should last me a while. Pulled one out of an old mobo I have and it measured just 3.01v, figure I'm better off putting in a new one.

 

[Blazer]

I just bought 6 CR2032 Maxells off ebay, $0.99 shipped!

dont be suprised if they are out dated.

 

[Texun]

That's what I would try. The 2032's can be found just about anywhere batteries are sold. I picked mine up at Wallgreens - just not for $.99.

Are any other settings lost or in need of a reset when you enter the BIOS to fix the auto start option? Regardless, I would swap the battery and see if that helps. It's cheap and if it works you're in business again.

 

[Muse]

dont be suprised if they are out dated.

I will be, but for that money I have to wonder if something's wrong with them. However I have bought very very cheap button batteries from Asia off ebay before and they have been fine AFAIK. :\ Plus they are incredibly cheaper than local stores. As long as I'm not in a hurry, that's for sure where I go for button batteries.

 

[Muse]

That's what I would try. The 2032's can be found just about anywhere batteries are sold. I picked mine up at Wallgreens - just not for $.99.

Are any other settings lost or in need of a reset when you enter the BIOS to fix the auto start option? Regardless, I would swap the battery and see if that helps. It's cheap and if it works you're in business again.

The settings aren't lost in BIOS, apparently, but the computer doesn't wake up when it's supposed to. Seems like it could be a weak battery to blame. Don't know what else to think. Hey, I'll try it. It does do some other squirrely things, including not having the right settings for my KVM a lot or most of the time. I think that problem might also clear up with a new battery. When that happens I have to hit my scroll lock key twice in a row very quickly to right the ship. Otherwise, I have no keyboard!

 

[Texun]

The settings aren't lost in BIOS, apparently, but the computer doesn't wake up when it's supposed to. Seems like it could be a weak battery to blame. Don't know what else to think. Hey, I'll try it. It does do some other squirrely things, including not having the right settings for my KVM a lot or most of the time. I think that problem might also clear up with a new battery. When that happens I have to hit my scroll lock key twice in a row very quickly to right the ship. Otherwise, I have no keyboard!

Do you have the current BIOS update? It looks like F14 was the last one out. It's just a thought but I would check the version and still swap the battery since that's cheap and easy.

 

[pcgeek11]

It does do some other squirrely things, including not having the right settings for my KVM a lot or most of the time. I think that problem might also clear up with a new battery. When that happens I have to hit my scroll lock key twice in a row very quickly to right the ship. Otherwise, I have no keyboard!

This would be an issue with the KVM Hardware and not the BIOS.

 

[Muse]

Do you have the current BIOS update? It looks like F14 was the last one out. It's just a thought but I would check the version and still swap the battery since that's cheap and easy.

Yeah, I'm running F14 because that's the only one compatible with the hardware. The batteries have been shipped... Thanks!

 

[Muse]

This would be an issue with the KVM Hardware and not the BIOS.

Yes, it's been recommended I find and implement keystrokes that reset the KVM to defaults. I haven't done it yet. I'm out of town right now, but will do that when I get back in a few days.