BIOS forgets settings when disconnected from mains

P

Paul

I've got an old (built approximately four years ago) Shuttle SN45G
which I've just booted up after it being left in storage for a few
months. On the first boot I found that all the BIOS settings had been
erased/forgotten, so I reconfigured them all and everything worked
fine. However, if I power down the machine and disconnect it from the
mains all the settings are erased again (this doesn't happen if I just
switch off the machine, only if I disconnect it from the mains power
supply as well).

I'm guessing the battery on the motherboard might have gone - is this
likely to be the case? If so, is it easy to source and replace new
batteries?,

(I'm running Windows 2000 with all the relevant drivers, though I
don't think the OS is the cause of the problem).

Thanks in advance for any help/pointers.
 
P

Paul

I should add that I haven't updated the BIOS at any point, nor have I
disconnected the machine from the mains until it has fully shutdown
and powered off.
 
J

Jon Danniken

Paul said:
I should add that I haven't updated the BIOS at any point, nor have I
disconnected the machine from the mains until it has fully shutdown
and powered off.
Click to expand...

Replace the battery.

Jon
 
J

John McGaw

I've got an old (built approximately four years ago) Shuttle SN45G
which I've just booted up after it being left in storage for a few
months. On the first boot I found that all the BIOS settings had been
erased/forgotten, so I reconfigured them all and everything worked
fine. However, if I power down the machine and disconnect it from the
mains all the settings are erased again (this doesn't happen if I just
switch off the machine, only if I disconnect it from the mains power
supply as well).

I'm guessing the battery on the motherboard might have gone - is this
likely to be the case? If so, is it easy to source and replace new
batteries?,

(I'm running Windows 2000 with all the relevant drivers, though I
don't think the OS is the cause of the problem).

Thanks in advance for any help/pointers.
Click to expand...

IMHO the battery theory is 99%+ certain to be the correct one. It has
always worked out that way for me.

As for the battery type, it is called out in your manual. Probably a CR2032
since this is the most common in modern motherboards. It should be dead
simple to replace.
 
P

Paul

IMHO the battery theory is 99%+ certain to be the correct one. It has
always worked out that way for me.

As for the battery type, it is called out in your manual. Probably a CR2032
since this is the most common in modern motherboards. It should be dead
simple to replace.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I thought it would be the battery but I haven't prodded about
inside a machine for a long time. I can't find the battery on the
motherboard so I guess I'll have to dredge through the manual,
assuming it's still available online.
 
T

Tinkerer

John McGaw said:
On 3/28/2010 12:04 PM, philo wrote:
snip...

But since you called your power source the mains you may not be
nickel-aware. Look for something shiny and 20mm in diameter. Think UK 20p
coin and you won't go far wrong.
Click to expand...

10p
 
P

pimpom

John said:
On 3/28/2010 12:04 PM, philo wrote:

But since you called your power source the mains you may not be
nickel-aware.
Click to expand...

I was not aware of any pondial difference in the term used to
refer to the standard domestic electrical supply. What is it
called in the US?
 
P

philo

pimpom said:
I was not aware of any pondial difference in the term used to
refer to the standard domestic electrical supply. What is it
called in the US?
Click to expand...

Really just a small but real difference.

In the US it's simply referred to as the "main power"

or perhaps AC power outlet..or "unplug it from the wall" etc...but there
is no "universal" standard term that I am aware of.

The Europeans (as far as I've noticed) seem to be pretty consistent in
calling it "the mains".
 
P

pimpom

philo said:
Really just a small but real difference.

In the US it's simply referred to as the "main power"

or perhaps AC power outlet..or "unplug it from the wall"
etc...but
there is no "universal" standard term that I am aware of.

The Europeans (as far as I've noticed) seem to be pretty
consistent in
calling it "the mains".
Click to expand...

I see. Thanks for the clarification. As a non-native user of
English, living literally thousands of miles from any place where
it's natively spoken, I'm familiar with many of the differences
between BrE and AmE, but not with all. I read and post in the
electronics NGs, but never noticed that Americans/USans don't use
the term "mains". I find it quite convenient: mains, mains power,
mains outlet, mains voltage, etc.
 
J

John McGaw

10p
Click to expand...

I thought that a 20p coin at 21mm would be a better comparison than a 10p
coin at 24mm. The actual cell is probably 20mm in diameter give-or-take a bit.
 
T

Tinkerer

John McGaw said:
I thought that a 20p coin at 21mm would be a better comparison than a 10p
coin at 24mm. The actual cell is probably 20mm in diameter give-or-take a
bit.
Click to expand...

I hadn't measured, it just looked more right. You are quite correct
though, now I check size wise the 20 is nearer.
 

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