dbminter Posted March 6, 2010 Posted March 6, 2010 Just got this interesting message from my boot time routine. CMOS Checksum Error 3 I have an idea what is possibly is, but, I wanted to run it past anyone who might know as I tried Googling my board ID and the CMOS Checksum Error 3 and got nothing. My guess is I need to replace the CMOS battery. Does that sound like a possible line of repair to anyone's guess? It should be interesting to fix as the battery is only $3 but, I've never done a CMOS battery replacement before. Thanks!
LIGHTNING UK! Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 short the jumper pins on the board to see if that does it. and yeah, you should probably replace the battery either way - just to be on the safe side.
dbminter Posted March 10, 2010 Author Posted March 10, 2010 Actually, the 3 part turned out to be the number of times that particular error, CMOS Checksum Error, was logged by the BIOS. I tried replacing the CMOS battery, but, I got even more errors. CMOS Checksum Error CMOS Battery Failure and CMOS Time Not Set. So, I took it in to the place that sold it to me as 1.) hardware, save for installing it, is not my forte 2.) I've never had a CMOS error before on any computer I've ever had 3.) the system was still under warranty as I purchased it in May. So, they're going to take a look at it. As for shorting out the pins, I don't know what you're talking about so I'll just see if the tech guys I'm turning over my precious baby to can find a problem with it. Plus, while they have it, I want them to check on the HDD and Power On lights as they're present on the system, but, have never lit up. So, my guess is they're disconnected and maybe the tech guy can connect them for me as I never found a cable or a place to hook it up in.
LIGHTNING UK! Posted March 10, 2010 Posted March 10, 2010 There are normally a pair of pins on the board that you can short to clear the cmos. Hope you get it sorted
dbminter Posted March 11, 2010 Author Posted March 11, 2010 Don't get me started on pins. I have a nasty habit of bending them. Had to bend one to get the CMOS battery off and I wonder if that's what caused the subsequent errors. I once bent a pin on a floppy drive connection and, strangely, the drive worked fine except it would never finish formatting a floppy. I'm 6 foot 8 and have these big hands that making just getting the CD drives in and out a challenge. Had to remove a RAM module just to get the old CMOS battery out. Hopefully, I'll get it all sorted out soon as work is already starting to pile up. It will be a week this Saturday since the store has had my machine.
dbminter Posted March 14, 2010 Author Posted March 14, 2010 Well, they started looking at my machine Friday. But, an "on site emergency" prevented them from fully looking at it. So, it won't be until Monday the earliest when they can look at it. So, for now, I'm still stuck using the library's Internet computers to read and answer e-mail and forum posts. Which means I won't be getting to any betas any time soon.
dbminter Posted March 17, 2010 Author Posted March 17, 2010 Well, got my PC back from the shop. I'm still getting the random CMOS Checksum error on boot. But, I've decided to just live with it as it shouldn't affect anything major. The date and time are being saved. So, fuck it. I've also got a new problem in that the CD drive I use to boot rescue media from no longer boots the rescue media. So, I've just decided to live with it and boot from another of the 3 available drives. As for the CMOS Battery Failure error. I spent $85 to fix a simple problem: I placed the battery in the wrong side in! The CMOS battery in this machine is different all other CMOS batteries I've ever seen. Instead of being inserted flat, it's inserted on its side, like a coin on its side. I THOUGHT I put it in the right way because I THOUGHT I made a note of the direction the battery was facing when I removed it. I guess I didn't.
dbminter Posted April 30, 2010 Author Posted April 30, 2010 Can anyone tell me if a DVD drive with a defect can generate a CMOS error? The reason I ask is I no longer receive the CMOS checksum error I was receiving EXCEPT when I try booting from this one DVD drive that no longer boots properly. The PC just freezes trying to read the disc. When I then restart the PC, I get the CMOS checksum error. I also believe my drive may have a defect because of a certain behavior I've noticed with in and ImgBurn. After ImgBurn reads a CD in this drive, an attempt to read a CD again in it causes ImgBurn to freeze doing something, I forget what it was. In order to use ImgBurn, I have to restart the PC. This leads me to believe there may be a problem with the drive. Thanks!
ianymaty Posted April 30, 2010 Posted April 30, 2010 Try with a new data cable. If it is PATA use a short 80 pins ribbon, not a round one cable. And don't mess up the bios settings. Put them on default and change only what you are sure and safe to change.
dbminter Posted April 30, 2010 Author Posted April 30, 2010 I should have mentioned the drive was an SATA drive. I've been meaning to experiment by putting the SATA data cable from the drive that may have a problem to the other SATA drive in the PC and see if it still boots as it does now. If it doesn't, then, the problem is either the SATA data cable or the SATA connection on the mobo. I've just been too lazy to open up the case and try it.
dbminter Posted May 6, 2010 Author Posted May 6, 2010 I finally opened up the PC and switched the SATA data cables around. The other drive booted fine 5 out of 5 times with the swapped data cable, so, it's not the cable or the connection on the mobo. It must be the drive which I tried booting from again. First time, it booted. Second time, system froze and when I powered it off and back on, got the CMOS check sum error. I also, strangely, got the CMOS error when a mystery freeze popped up. I had just restarted the system after the previous freeze with the drive that was presenting some problem when Windows 7 failed to start at all. It was locked at a black screen before the Starting Windows or the Welcome screens ever came up. After powering the system off and back on, I got the CMOS error again. So, it's whenever the system fails to start past a black screen after the power on tests that is causing the CMOS error. But, the DVD drive in question apparently needs replacing because it won't boot properly, in addition to the error attemping to read in a 2nd CD after reading one in on the drive. On a PATA DVD drive connected to the system, it reads in the discs one after the other without locking up ImgBurn.
dbminter Posted May 7, 2010 Author Posted May 7, 2010 Well, I got a replacement drive, put it in, and it still wouldn't boot from that drive. Now, I know that the drive boots with a certain combination of drive, cable, and connection. So, I guess I should just get another one of those drives that did boot and try it out.
ianymaty Posted May 7, 2010 Posted May 7, 2010 Every modern drive is boot capable. In new BIOS versions there are two settings that you can change: Boot order and Boot priority. Maybe there lays your problem. You could try this: Eliminate all HDDs and CD/DVD drives that you have connected to mainboard leaving just the one you want. Set the boot priority and boot order to see that drive as first and only one boot source and than and try boot from it. Make sure you have a bootable CD/DVD disc.
dbminter Posted May 7, 2010 Author Posted May 7, 2010 Every modern drive is boot capable. I know that. In new BIOS versions there are two settings that you can change: Boot order and Boot priority. Maybe there lays your problem. I also know that. It's not that because I can hook up the other drive and it boots. Make sure you have a bootable CD/DVD disc. The disc is bootable because it boots on my other two drives, one PATA one SATA. It's some kind of fucker error. One of those kind where there's no explanation and you just have figure out what kind of "solution" will appease the gods.
ianymaty Posted May 7, 2010 Posted May 7, 2010 Did you let it all alone and nothing happened? I'm running out of options... You're on your own now.
dbminter Posted May 7, 2010 Author Posted May 7, 2010 So far, the only solution seems to get another copy of the drive that I connected up to the cables and it boots. I've already ordered it.
ianymaty Posted May 8, 2010 Posted May 8, 2010 Oh, did you try to switch the connections to connect the bad drive to that port where the other drive works? Try the drive in another computer if you can...
dbminter Posted May 8, 2010 Author Posted May 8, 2010 Well, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. I have tried swapping the cable leading to the drive that doesn't boot to the other SATA drive in the system. The other drive boots under that condition. So, another copy of that drive should work. Or, at the worst, it doesn't work and I can swap the drive out from its location and place it at the top. Don't have another computer I can try it in, I'm afraid.
dbminter Posted May 10, 2010 Author Posted May 10, 2010 Well, it MUST be the SATA cable or the mobo connection. I inserted the new drive and it booted once and then started locking up on subsequent attempts to boot from it. So, for now, I'm just saying fuck it. I'm returning the copy of the drive, if I can, I've reinserted the drive I thought had a problem, and simply swapped the top SATA drive cable with the bottom one, since I only boot from the top drive. My first optical drive in any system I've ever owned that had one and had more than one drive was to make the top drive a read only drive, regardless if it can write or not. So, since I'll only ever boot from the top drive, I just swapped the cables around. This enabled me to reboot and boot from the bootable media 5 times in a row, my test for this "problem." Also, swapping the cables fixed my problem I had with ImgBurn reading in more than 1 CD in a row.
dbminter Posted May 12, 2010 Author Posted May 12, 2010 Well, I replaced the SATA cable. Got 1 good boot and then lock up on next attempt to reboot out of 5 and then reboot after that failed reboot didn't start Windows. So, something is wrong beyond my understanding and fixing. I've done everything I can think of short of a tech working on my machine. So, I'll have to take my machine in sometime when I have the cash to do so. Until then, I've swapped around the data cables so the top drive boots and the bottom drive doesn't. It still apparently reads and writes CD's and DVD's, as I tested those with rewritables and one DVD-R. The problem only occurs when both drives are connected. When only one is, it boots. Either drive. If only one of them is connected. Then, there's the CMOS checksum error that results from the failed boots. I can't fix that.
ianymaty Posted May 12, 2010 Posted May 12, 2010 Did you verify for an BIOS update on motherboard site?
dbminter Posted May 12, 2010 Author Posted May 12, 2010 Yes. In fact, back in March when I first got the CMOS checksum error back in March, I had just updated to the most recent BIOS. I even ran the BIOS update again to see if that might clear up. It didn't. I think my only option now is to take the machine into the shop again like I did back in March. I think I'll do that next month when the monies roll over.
ianymaty Posted May 12, 2010 Posted May 12, 2010 By any chance, it is RAID activated on those ports? It should be AHCI or SATA.
dbminter Posted May 12, 2010 Author Posted May 12, 2010 It's not RAID. I have to admit, I've never heard of AHCI.
ianymaty Posted May 12, 2010 Posted May 12, 2010 Oh, never herd of it? How old is your motherboard? Here is some info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface
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