PC randomly displays BIOS error on startup-what to do?

quicky008

Technomancer
I have an i5 based system that's roughly 5 years old at this point.It has been working well thus far,but of late sometimes when i turn it on it shows error messages related to the bios such as "New cpu detected-press F1 to enter bios setup"(even though the same old cpu is being used and no new cpu has been installed) or "Press Enter to recover bios settings or press F1 to enter setup" and so on.If I enter the bios and then restart the pc after saving all settings,it starts working normally for as long as the computer is kept on.However when i turn it off and then switch it back on again after quite a while(say 12 hrs or more),the bios related error shows up again occasionally.

Initially i thought the bios settings are being messed up as the motherboard's battery might be on the verge of being depleted.Usually when the battery starts acting up,the first thing that it affects is the system's date and time.However,whenever i checked the date and time of my system in the bios immediately after encountering an error message during startup i found that they were correct and not some wrong value as i had been anticipating.

So what exactly is the culprit here?Why is my computer showing bios errors randomly during bootup?Could it be that its battery is indeed the culprit even though it still shows the proper date and time?Or is it being caused by something else entirely?Please help me resolve this issue-it really worries me!

The system config is as follows:I5 3450,Asus p8-b75v motherboard,12GB DDR3,Zotac GTX 960,Corsair VX 450 PSU,4 HDDs.
 

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
If there is bios update available then do an update.
Replace the CMOS battery with a new one.
If all above fails then Bios have got corrupted and you need to send it for RMA.
Since it's out of warranty they will charge you.Ok.

Sent from my Lenovo K33a42 using Tapatalk
 

image

Broken In
Usually when the battery starts acting up,the first thing that it affects is the system's date and time.However,whenever i checked the date and time of my system in the bios immediately after encountering an error message during startup i found that they were correct and not some wrong value as i had been anticipating.

There is no harm in replacing motherboard battery (Rs.20) even if above theory is correct.
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
Just curious to know, when it says New CPU detected, what frequency it shows either on screen display or in BIOS? Is it same as default i5's speed or lower or higher?

Did you ever change CMOS Battery in last 5 years? If not, As already mentioned by other users above, it's anyways worth to get it replaced and check if issue gets resolved as a first step.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
the speed that is displayed is the stock clock of my cpu ie 3100 Mhz-it has been like this ever since i installed this cpu on my system and i have never attempted to increase or modify it in any way.I didn't need to change the CMOS battery in the last 5 years as the system had been working just fine during this period-but now it seems i'll have to give it a try as a last ditch attempt to resolve this very annoying problem.

Could this problem be caused by any other malfunctioning component of my pc-such as the PSU for instance?
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
You can as well try a 30 second trick. switch off the mains supply and hold down the power button for 30 - 35 seconds.
Some time this procedure may remove any residual charge left on motherboard. Just give it a try.

Usually if the CMOS battery is dying then your CPU would reset to lowest speeds because it may not hold the correct default speed info in the BIOS.
 

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
You can as well try a 30 second trick. switch off the mains supply and hold down the power button for 30 - 35 seconds.
Some time this procedure may remove any residual charge left on motherboard. Just give it a try.

Usually if the CMOS battery is dying then your CPU would reset to lowest speeds because it may not hold the correct default speed info in the BIOS.
If there is no charge in the Bios it will ask to press F2 to continue since it is resetting every setting in bios to defaults Everytime.

You need to use electro static band while opening any PC to earth the residual energy if there was any left.

Just change the battery and check once.

Sent from my Lenovo K33a42 using Tapatalk
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
this problem hasn't resurfaced within the last few days but i'm keeping my pc under observation for now-if it happens again then i will certainly replace the motherboard's battery.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
This error reappeared again today,and this time i managed to take a photo of it.I wonder whats wrong with this motherboard-i will try to replace its cmos battery with a new one today.If that fails to resolve this issue,i don't know what i'm gonna do next.
 

Attachments

  • 20170326_043252.jpg
    20170326_043252.jpg
    196 KB · Views: 199

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
This error reappeared again today,and this time i managed to take a photo of it.I wonder whats wrong with this motherboard-i will try to replace its cmos battery with a new one today.If that fails to resolve this issue,i don't know what i'm gonna do next.

If replacing with a new CMOS battery doesnt solve your woes then try shorting the mobo jumper using a pin. Maybe it might solve your bios problemo.

Here is a guide for solving your bios problems:How to Clear Your Computer’s CMOS to Reset BIOS Setting
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
If the error reappears even after replacing battery / clearing CMOS variables, you give it a try by re-seating your CPU as well. Possibly somewhere some contact between CPU & socket may not be firm enough at minute level. This involves removing the heat sink and CPU from the socket and re-seating it again and refitting the heat sink.

Make sure to replace the thermal paste as CPU heatsink shall be removed from the socket.

I assume you are familiar doing such assemblies etc, else you might end up breaking something else.
 
Last edited:
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
i have just replaced the battery and after reconfiguring the bios and adjusting the date and time,my pc appears to be working normally as of now.I will observe it for a while and if anything goes wrong i'll do what others have suggested in this thread.
 

Mark Abraham

Right off the assembly line
My best suggestion is to move your boot drive to a different SATA port. Also, make sure it is set as your main boot drive in the bios. You might also have another device connected that has an operating system that your computer is trying to boot off of.
 
Last edited:
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Ever since i replaced the motherboard's battery in march i didn't encounter this issue-however this problem has resurfaced once again and i got the same error today (ie new cpu installed) while starting up the pc.Is it possible that the battery that i had installed a few months earlier has run out of charge so soon?Or is it being caused by some other issue?Should i just replace the current battery with a new one once again?
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
Just to share an experience..with my car audio. My car audio remote stopped working so I replaced the battery. However despite replacing the CR20xx battery, it just was not working. I tested the remote with mobile camera and it appeared fine!

I took it to service center where a guy inspected the system and concluded that what I had was a duplicate Maxell battery that was very weak. It was emitting a weak signal that receiver failed to detect properly. He replaced it with a Panasonic CR20xx one and everything started working well again.

You might have had received a duplicate mobo battery that may not be adequate. However do you now get any other signs indicating that battery might have run out?

Also you should try flashing the BIOS to any latest version if ever released by mobo vendor.

If the system runs fine otherwise, try disabling the error check (Halt on all errors) etc in BIOS.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Thanks for the heads up-the battery i had replaced the original with was from a pack of 5 maxell batteries that was purchased from ebay-the seller claimed that they were 100% genuine and so i went ahead and bought them.But its quite possible that they might have been very good duplicates,so they were difficult to distinguish from original ones.

The symptoms that i am experiencing now are practically the same as they were around 6 months ago when the problem first surfaced in March.While starting up-the pc gets stuck at the bios screen and displays either "new cpu is installed" or simply "Enter setup to recover bios settings".This error doesn't appear everytime,but occasionally.After replacing the battery 6 months earlier the error had completely stopped and now its back again-i think it might be related to the battery.

Is it advisable to buy panasonic batteries online?I also found some sellers offering duracell cr2032 batteries for around Rs 60 each.I dont want to buy maxell batteries again as chances of getting counterfeit batteries is very high for this particular brand.
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
Weak CR2032 battery might be one of the possibilities. Since you are anyways opting to replace the battery do give it a try with Panasonic this time.
I still suggest you try to flash your BIOS to latest version if available. What happens if you ignore the error by forcing it not to stop on all errors? Just for testing purposes try that setting if available. I guess there's one option in BIOS something like Stop on --> No error, All Error, All but keyboard etc.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
The thought of updating the bios has crossed my mind but as i dont possess much experience in this regard,i don't want to risk experimenting with it-as if something goes wrong i might end up bricking my mobo.I have not checked whether the option to ignore the error is available in the bios or not-i will look for it and if its there i will certainly enable it and check what happens then.

Yes,and this time around i intend to buy panasonic batteries,as you've already used one for your car's remote in the past,could you please give me some pointers on how to distinguish genuine panasonic batteries from fakes.After a bit of googling i discovered that like maxell,there's no dearth of duplicate panasonic batteries in the market either.They reportedly cost around Rs 50 each when bought separately,but i've found a seller offering 5 of them for Rs 200 on ebay:

Pack of 5 Original Panasonic CR2032 Original Lithium Coin Cell Battery +GST Bill | eBay

Do you think its the real deal?The seller seems trustworthy enough as he has a pretty high rating.
 

patkim

Cyborg Agent
I am not too sure how to really spot duplicate battery from real one. I myself have used Maxell in my mobo too.
However all I can tell you is that the car audio service center charged me Rs 90 for a single Panasonic CR2032 battery ( and gave me a bill) and I had no problems because it worked very well and Maxell did not.

These batteries do have a 'Best Before' sort of expiry date after which they may no longer hold the charge well. So if possible do check for that too. It should be at least 4 years before expiry date. A lower priced one might possibly be close to expiry. So try to check this info as well.

The reason behind suggesting BIOS setting is that if the issue is only restricted to BIOS (Despite faulty message, it actually correctly reads stock CPU speed) possibly it should be fine in the OS. So for testing purposes test the BIOS setting 'Halt On' --> 'No Error'. This will push BIOS to proceed (if still possible) by ignoring the error.
 
Top Bottom