CMOS check sum error

Apurv_Sharma

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i'm gettin cmos check sum error . MY pc time get reseted to 12/012010 each time i logon .what should i do?
Should i replace my CMOS? If which one's good to have?
 
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somebodyspecial

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Have you tried changing the battery? This is probably all I need to say at this point but I'll go further. Most motherboards tell you the voltage level of the battery in the bios but YMMV on that. It only costs a few bucks to change it out and you can buy a new battery in any store probably (usually CR2032 3v - in any battery section in a store - walmart, Fry's etc).
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Energizer-CR2032-Battery-4-Pack-2032BP-4/203979705
Nice big pic for you. Brand really isn't important.

1. Have you opened the box recently to install something?
2. When you shutdown your PC do you turn the PSU off in the back or something? Is there an on/off switch you're using ON the psu or are you shutting down the PC and then turning off a surge protector it's plugged into?

I just replaced my own battery after doing some HDD swaps and found I had my bios blown away when I turned the psu back on and booted the PC. I usually set their OEM full screen page OFF (like the big ASUS ad screen etc whatever brand) so I know when this happens and I like seeing the post info anyway. You can usually run with a dead battery, if you never turn the thing off via the switch (or surge) so it never resets on you. Without the power being totally shut off it won't reset (usually, without problems that is) since the battery isn't needed to be working in that case as you have continual power from the wall. I actually ran like this for a long time and just forgot when I did the HDD's to do the battery also...ROFL. I know how to set my bios up (by heart..LOL-I've built way too many pc's in my life) so it wasn't even a concern for me as I only really take it down to change parts.

3. How old is the board in this PC?

Assuming the battery advice didn't work:
4. Have you flashed the bios recently and are you on the latest version for your board? It could be corrupt, might try updating (flash bios), then after that disconnect power & clear cmos for 10secs or so with battery out (of course at this point you should have a new battery in hand to replace it since you're in there or already done as noted above), pop it back in then load setup defaults followed by saving and exit. Let it boot up once to get through a post, then reboot and go back into the bios, Change your settings accordingly and save and exit. See if they stick then. If there is no switch on the PSU, you can always shutdown and disconnect power to make sure the battery is doing it's job. This may be overkill for some (and I could add more steps and flash switches), but boards like Abit etc used to have a whole procedure to work right (with a list of about 6-7 switches during the flash). If you didn't load setup defaults and boot first then go back in it failed in some cases. I haven't had that kind of issue in a while but I'm not building boxes on new stuff right and left these days. It's usually the same model or two company wide these days rather than building/fixing home user pc's and seeing a ton of different brands/models yearly in Motherboards.

If you're switching the power off, just stop doing that until you get a battery and the settings should stick (and I don't know why anyone would do this anyway, windows shutdown is fine). So I mean just shutdown in windows (start shutdown etc, whatever) and don't switch off the PC in back or at the surge which would amount the the same thing as turning off the PSU (no juice flowing to the psu if you shut off surge, even without a switch). The only time my surge is turned off is if an electrical storm is on the way or something and I'm unplugging everything from the walls house-wide (well, stuff I care about...ROFL), or if I'm working on the PC etc.

I could go on, but we need more info on exactly what you're doing if the battery replacement fails. Logon isn't really enough. Also it's 6am so not the sharpest tool in the shed right now...LOL. My bet is battery, but you shouldn't see that unless you are killing power in some way when shutting down (either at surge or on PSU power off switch). Typical PC's still have power after a windows shutdown only. You won't be switching out the CMOS in any case today as it's most likely not removable and in that case you've got board issues if other suggestions here don't work. BEWARE of ESD before you go getting into your case if you're not a tech guy. Pull the power plug, and use an ESD wrist strap attached to metal on the case or something. I could write a bunch on ESD and workarounds (some sound hilarious but they work in a pinch & I really don't want to encourage that crap) but you should get the point. BEWARE of ESD! ;)

Hope this helps :)
 

Apurv_Sharma

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Aug 6, 2013
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Apurv_Sharma

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Aug 6, 2013
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It hasn't get me any error since i 've posted my query.
But still when i start my pc for first in a day my dates get changed to december 2010.
Also i ain't an expert so except of changing the battery i dint get most of the thing you said. i would like to tell the case is not that svere.
I only get my pc's date reset to dec. when i start my pc for first time of day. After that even if restart my pc my date dont reset.
Well thanks lot for your reply.
if possible could you tell what happens when i would replace my cmos?
would the bios setting be changed? if yes what should i do? I have also heard of that sometimes replacing the battery wont get your pc started?

i have a dell inspiron 560s and my bios version is A06. My motherboard is only about 2 years old.


 

somebodyspecial

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Sep 20, 2012
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Apurv_Sharma,

Well, 2yrs old and it may have sat on a shelf before being installed in the PC, so I'd change the battery. That is very easy and the dell support site will have a manual that describes it and how to get the box open. Batteries unfortunately die early for all kinds of reasons. You can also google for "cmos battery replacement" (without quotes) for a look at how it's done. Sorry if you didn't understand everything, it was definitely not my intention to confuse you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCTMOTlYikg
A good video on a dell battery replacement at least to give you an idea of what we're talking about. Pay attention to his ESD comment about touching UNPAINTED metal to discharge you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehbvzeU2Eh8
Another guy, his died in a year much to his surprise. Longer vid crappy qual, but shows the general idea here and discusses needing to go into the bios etc. That was just a quick look on google, so you may find better quality ones. I didn't watch the whole thing, and moved forward a bit to where he pops it out. I could do without the music intro...LOL.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/Common/inspiron-560_service%20manual_en-us.pdf
service manual for your machine. Link for battery at the top 1st page, and sends you to page 10 where the instructions are. Squeeze the lever and one side pops up so you can get it out (the side where the lever is). You should be able to READ the CR2032 when you put it back meaning face up just as removed (might seem silly but just reminding you).

From that page 10 related to your question about putting it back:
Removing the Battery
1. Record all the screens in System Setup (see System Setup) so that you can restore the correct settings after the new battery has been installed.

You should be able to put it all back if you do this step first. You can just take some pics with a camera (phone etc) if desired. Or write them down if you have to. As a person who isn't an expert I definitely wouldn't be relying on my memory in your case (there can be a lot of settings in there depending on machine/board).

Are you getting beeps when it does the checksum error? (I realize it's not happening constant, just asking if you remember this).

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19468710/20194978.aspx
guy with checksum error replaced battery and that went away (though he had another problem...but the checksum gone).

When you shutdown what do you do? Start-Shutdown in windows? Then do you do ANYTHING else? Like switch off the surge protector for the night or something? If so that would explain losing date/time when you come back in the morning (no power to keep it if battery is dead and power to wall is cut/off).

The date/time you're getting is the default settings from the bios. When the PC has no power from the battery or the wall you'll get the defaults again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q2RIaCICKU
Not always lasting 6-8yrs but he does explain some stuff about the bios (though not everything is applicable to you probably but just an idea) and yet another removal shown.

If you still have problems after doing the battery we'll go further. It could easily be dead after 2yrs for various reasons (battery could have been on the shelf for ages before it was installed etc). Let us know how the swap goes and the results.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/inspiron-560/drivers
A06 appears to be the latest posted feb2011, so makes sense you get reset to dec 2010 when it was originally created probably.
 
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