Intermittent CMOS settings wrong error despite bios battery replacement

[quicky008]

i have an old pc with the following config:
i5 4460,
gigabyte B85 d3ha motherboard,
8 GB DDR3,
corsair VS 450 (grey label)
ssd+hdd
Corsair carbide 200r cabinet

a few weeks earlier,it started displaying cmos settings wrong error at startup,which prompted me to replace the cmos battery with a new one (panasoic cr2032).Surprisingly however despite changing battery,it still continued to display the same error every now and then,resulting in wrong date/time being displayed upon starting the pc.

I replaced the battery with another panasonic cell (from a newer batch) which didn't solve the problem either-sometimes it boots at startup without issues,but occasionally it still displays the same cmos settings error at startup and in windows it shows incorrect date and time.

I dont understand why this problem hasn't been resolved despite changing the cmos battery twice in a row.And btw,the batteries used were new and had not crossed their expiry dates.Is something else causing the problem?I had measured the voltage on one of the batteries before installing it on the mobo-and it gave a reading of around 3.2 V which indicates it was in good condition.

Please suggest what can i do to resolve it as its becoming a major annoyance day by day.

 

[omega44-xt]

Mobo issue maybe. My parents have an i3 530 PC (1st gen) & had to replace its mobo for 4k a year ago. Even it had issues with CMOS not storing date & time, after 2 new batteries, we assumed it was CMOS' slot issue on mobo & ignored it. It ran with CMOS issue for a year, date/time were synced with internet.

 

[quicky008]

It seems for reasons unknown, the batteries are getting drained very fast. Can it by any chance be caused by a failing psu?

This is otherwise a pretty decent mobo and is working fine. Replacing it would entail buying a cheaper board from some local brand ike zebronics, which wouldn't be ideal.

 

[patkim]

Does the voltage drop on CMOS battery after a few days of usage?
What is the voltage on CMOS battery when inserted in the slot? You could use any of the Black GND pins on PSU connectors for -ve wire connection to measure V.
Do insert the battery firmly in the slot once again and check.
CMOS battery has long life. It does not get used-up when PC is connected to Mains but OFF (i.e. PSU in standby state). In Standby the PSU continues to supply trickle current to a few circuits on mobo including the RTC
Clean the CMOS slot with spray of IPA cleaner.
Check what VBAT voltage is reported in hWINFO app. Thought it may not be very accurate. *www.hwinfo.com/download/
There could be a few Scripts (.bat, .vbs etc) available online that sync time on Windows. For the time being use one such script and put it in startup.

 

[quicky008]

The voltage of the cmos battery was around 3.2 V before it was installed onto the motherboard-recently i removed the battery and tested its voltage again and it measured 3.05v on my multimeter.It was installed around 2 months earlier.

Just before removal of the battery,i had checked its voltage in hwinfo and it read 2.9V.

Not sure what's causing the problem.I have installed another battery yet again (multimeter reading 3.2v just before installation,hwinfo vbat reading: 3.144V after installation)

Now it remains to be seen how long this lasts.After installing a fresh battery,the cmos error stops for a few days/weeks and then it starts again,usually within a month or two.

 

[patkim]

My guess is that if PSU would have been faulty then your other standby circuits could have also been affected like power on, Wake on LAN etc.

If CMOS battery is draining very fast, it might mean some short somewhere on the RTC chip or circuit.
Look for suitable .bat / .vbs scripts that sync time on Windows and push it into startup as a preliminary workaround.
On one of my AM3 mobos, the clock was lagging behind and root cause was that the battery was slightly loose in the slot. It was not making firm contacts and the increased resistance was causing voltage drop. When I re-seated in again, the problem did not reoccur.