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Old March 4th, 2021, 04:32 PM
Digerati Digerati is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nebraska, USA
Posts: 2,562
You are right - there is conflicting information out there.

But one solution I did find that is worth trying is to replace the CMOS battery. This is easy to do, and inexpensive so if it doesn't work, little is lost.

Note changes don't just happen in the BIOS Setup Menu on their own - except when the CMOS battery goes bad. So, when the computer was working fine and suddenly misbehaves, I typically cringe when I see suggestions to make changes in the BIOS before suggesting to reset it (or change the battery).

CMOS batteries typically last anywhere from 3 to 10+ years. But I have seen them fail way before that - even being bad right out of the packaging.

Unplug the computer from the wall, touch bare metal of the case interior to discharge any static in your body BEFORE reaching in, then pull the battery and get another. You can get a new battery for a couple dollars at just about any battery/watch/camera counter at your local home improvement or discount store. Most likely it is a CR2032 or equivalent but take the old battery with you as many battery counters recycle. Do NOT touch the new battery with your bare skin as skin oils promote corrosion and attract dust. I put a clean sock over my hand. Be sure to touch bare metal again before reaching in. Upon first boot, go straight into the BIOS Setup Menu and set your date and time, and verify your drives are detected and the boot order is correct. Then Save and Exit to boot normally. The "Save" part is very important.

Note that removing the battery for a few seconds resets the BIOS back to the defaults. There's no point in shorting Reset pins and removing the battery too. Replacing the battery with a new one kills two birds with one stone. You have a fresh battery and the BIOS is reset, including any corrupt settings that may have been caused by a weak, old battery.
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