[Solved] BIOS (CMOS) Date

[cyberdyne]

Hi

I have a HP Compaq running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS although I'm sure this is more of a hardware problem than OS-related.

Whenever the system if turned off and power cord is removed from the sytem, the date is wiped from the BIOS together with a few other options like whether or not to display F* key details at boot - although boot and maintenance passwords are retained.

 

After replacing the power cord and booting, I have to first press Esc to stop the RAM count, then hit F1 to continue, then after entering the boot password I have to hit F1 again and then finally it'll boot succesfully. If I do hit F10 and have a look at the BIOS, I've lost the date and other settings as mentioned above.

 

If the power cord is not removed at shut down, the above details remain unchanged.

 

I'm hoping it's just a dead CMOS battery but don't have one to test at the moment. So can anyone suggest what else might be the cause if not the battery?

 

Many thanks in advance.

[KenB]

Hi

 

The most likely cause is the CMOS battery as this is used to maintain the BIOS settings when the power is removed.

 

You can get one almost anywhere.

 

Check - but I think they are CR2032 - available from supermarkets / motor-factors / jewellers.

I recently bought 12 on Amazon for less than £3 !

[cyberdyne]

Thanks Ken. What threw me was the fact that the passwords were being saved but not the time/date. I tried two other batteries (CR2032 is correct) which I happened to have gathering dust at the back of a drawer and typically they were both dead too. I realised this because I happen to have a second identical system which this problem isn't happening to so I used the battery from that and the issue was fixed - but of course has now transferred itself to the other machine!

 

Off to Sainsbury's...... :rolleyes:

 

Thanks again.

[KenB]

No problem - at least it was a simple fix :)