After power failure, some problems...

  • Thread starter Thread starter JD
  • Start date Start date
J

JD

When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I
corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be validated.
However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the CD.
But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This machine
has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a floppy drive and
floppy disk controller installed and "working properly."
Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and floppy
disk controllers?
Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK now.
 
JD said:
When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I
corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be validated.
However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the CD.
But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This machine
has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a floppy drive and
floppy disk controller installed and "working properly."
Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and floppy
disk controllers?
Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK now.
Click to expand...

1) Verify the CMOS battery is still working. Usually that
is a CR2032 in a socket. Check with a multimeter, that it
measures 3.0V or a bit more. You can pick up a ground, on
any shiny metal or an I/O screw on the back I/O plate.
You don't have to pull the battery to measure it.
If the battery reads below 2.4V, that is not sufficient
to power the CMOS RAM when the ATX power supply is switched
off at the back or unplugged (or power failure).

Your power fail symptoms tell me the battery is flat,
but you can verify with the multimeter before tearing
anything apart.

2) For the floppy, try a load setup defaults in the BIOS,
save and exit.

My guess would be, the SuperI/O chip has a floppy interface,
and normally the BIOS would be setting a bit in the chip
after power up, to make it look like no floppy is present.
On modern systems, they may continue to use legacy rich
chips. Then, to make it look like most of that is
missing, they disable the devices in the SuperI/O during
POST. A SuperI/O might have eight legacy devices, and
it is likely each one has an enable/disable, to suit
situations where connectors have not been connected
to the interfaces in question. So the fact that yours
has become visible, might be corrected by a power cycle and
POST sequence. Or by a load setup defaults.

I think I would fix the CMOS battery first, before
working on the floppy issue.

Paul
 
I appreciate your extensive and thoughtful reply. However, to quote Casca,
it was "Greek to me." I've never fooled with the BIOS, so I have no idea how
to "load setup defaults in the BIOS."
My instincts tell me that if I check "Do not use this device" in Device
Manager, then the "resources" assigned to it will be regained, and no harm
done.
As for the system battery, it--and the computer--is six years old. I've
never thought about the prospect of having to replace it, but I know that
batteries don't last forever.
 
JD said:
I appreciate your extensive and thoughtful reply. However, to quote Casca,
it was "Greek to me." I've never fooled with the BIOS, so I have no idea how
to "load setup defaults in the BIOS."
My instincts tell me that if I check "Do not use this device" in Device
Manager, then the "resources" assigned to it will be regained, and no harm
done.
As for the system battery, it--and the computer--is six years old. I've
never thought about the prospect of having to replace it, but I know that
batteries don't last forever.
Click to expand...

The CR2032 doesn't last forever, so you eventually get to learn how
to change it. I've replaced a couple here already, and I know some
of my other retired computers need them changed too.

The battery tends to flop around, so make sure the power is off before
you start. The battery should only fit one way, and even if it went in
backwards, the Schottky diode in that path should prevent damage to the
computer. As consumer goods go, this circuit is fairly well protected.

Since your time reset to 2002, that means the battery was too weak
to maintain the time. The RTC (real time clock) and CMOS RAM (256
bytes to hold BIOS settings) are powered by the battery, only
when the +5VSB on the power supply is shut off. And that happens
when you switch off the supply at the back.

Since you haven't had a problem getting your computer to boot,
since the "2002" event, that tells me there is nothing
critical in your BIOS screens. You must have been using default settings
since the computer was purchased. On some computers, you need to
correct the boot order, before they behave themselves.

If you enter the BIOS setup screens, the "Exit" menu has
a few different options. One would be "Save and Exit", which is
used to save any changes made during the session. Another would be
to "Discard changes", in case you regret messing around with the
settings. There may also be a "Load Setup Defaults" in the same
menu. I don't really think that controls floppy visibility, but
it is the only thing I can think of, other than simply power cycling
the equipment again, to make the floppy interface go away. The
BIOS should really have a chunk of code, which disables the
floppy interface, each time the computer starts. And the control
of that bit, shouldn't be stored in the CMOS. But if it is actually
stored in the CMOS, then a Load Setup Defaults may be enough to
repair it.

I recommend looking in your BIOS, just for the learning experience.
Some computers have a really dumbed down BIOS, and there isn't
that much in them. Others have a horrendous number of options.
If you have a look in there, who knows, you may be able to
help some other person, with "the battery problem" :-)

If you need help with BIOS options, scroll down this web page,
to find a summary of some of them. Not every item here, provides
sufficient info to solve problems, but this collection is
better than what is in a lot of computer user manuals.

http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx

Paul
 
Your bios was reset due to a failed mother board battery. Now you have to
replace the battery and set the bios to what YOU feel it should be.
Apparently the default setting allows for a floppy drive, which you don't
use. There may be other settings that have to be changed to your liking.
 
Many thanks to you and Paul. I will have to learn how to access the BIOS and
make the required changes. I'm a little apprehensive about it, but if it has
to be done...
Jim
 
Back
Top