cmos reset

Message

gohmdoree · Post by **gohmdoree** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:56 am

I have a gentoo desktop that I just put together from random parts. Worked okay for a while. I kind of let it be and I see the various leds on from the case.

When I actually tried to access it, it was unresponsive. Powered it down and it wouldn't boot up again.

The fix for me was to reset the cmos and was able to boot up again.

I'm not verse with hardware. Would this be an issue with something overheating? Any general explanations?

yabbadabbadont · Post by **yabbadabbadont** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:41 am

Could be that your CMOS battery is dead.

gohmdoree · Post by **gohmdoree** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:58 pm

that would cause a machine to eventually lock up? i figured if the machine is running, that it would be a non issue.

ketjap · Post by **ketjap** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 5:03 pm

It's probably not your cmos battery, cause then you have to get a message that the date/time is cleared and all settings are back to default. If it is a heating problem, then you don't need to clear the cmos before you can power up again.

Maybe it's an issue with your bios. You can try to get a newer one. It can also be a combination of your hardware. It's hard too tell.

I think for now, the best thing you can do is try to put a new firmware in your bios and see if your problems are not coming back. Else you can try to put your memory in other slots or switch something with your pci devices.

gohmdoree · Post by **gohmdoree** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 5:08 pm

thanks for the tips.

previously, the machine was locking up. i couldn't figure out what it was. if i did a hard restart, it would go up fine. doing trial and error, i found out the pci-e 1x video card was being a problem. well, it locked up when i had it.

since i disabled pci-e and used the onboard video. it was fine for a while.

it has a mobile core 2 duo, with a very large heat sink fan.

its an abit board and i believe i have the latest bios in there but will have to check.

just going to have to try different combinations and hopefully figure it out over time. will update.