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My Motherboard BIOS option question + my neighbor motherboard broken by pc guy

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1:
Hi, so just a quick question. Why does my motherboard ask me "F1 to run setup or F2 to load defaults" after I plug out the power to swap parts etc? Is there an option in the bios to tell it to just continue with the last bios configuration? It's not a problem at all, I'm just asking out of curiosity; my motherboard is working flawlessly and I also installed a most expensive bios battery I could find.

2:
Here's a hilarious one. Recently a neighbor called a pc guy from a local pc service shop, to install a new cpu cooler for his pc. The pc guy installed the cooler and after that there was no post, no reaction to the power button, nothing. The pc guy claimed he had to take out the cmos for the pc to start working again. Does that normally happen that the motherboard is half dead after changing the cpu cooler? Also the pc guy neglected to say he obviously hit the motherboard with a big magnetic screwdriver multiple times while his hands were shaking. When I arrived at the scene of comedy and tragedy, the pc was in a reboot loop, usb ports were failing and loosing contact, and pc guy wrote the bill and ran off almost literally, leaving his screwdriver and a bunch of stuff behind. Since that my neighbors motherboard randomly resets the bios to default when plugged into power, loses contact with usb ports, mouse freezes, etc. Thoughts? Because he is nagging me all the time with that.
 

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Your CMOS battery has run out, replace the CR2032 battery on the motherboard.
It also means that your BIOS/UEFI settings are reset to factory defaults every time your PC loses power.
 
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Your CMOS battery has run out, replace the CR2032 battery on the motherboard.
It also means that your BIOS/UEFI settings are reset to factory defaults every time your PC loses power.
My cmos battery is replaced and new. My neighbors cmos battery is new too.
 

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Did you actually go into the BIOS/UEFI and change some settings and then save it? As if you keep bypassing it, the settings have never been saved after you swapped the battery.

You didn't happen to get a rechargeable 2032 cell by chance? As it might not have high enough Voltage.
 

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Clear cmos, change the battery, start, go into bios, save optimized defaults, exit and press on.
 
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TheLostSwede

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Yeah, that should be fine, bog standard battery. The only reason I was asking was because you said it was the most expensive one you could find.
Unfortunately you just wasted a lot of money on something that doesn't matter too much in terms of brand.
Any of the other CR2032 batteries on the Amazon link you posted would've done the job.
Normally CMOS batteries tend to last 3-5 years at a minimum.
 
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Yeah, that should be fine, bog standard battery. The only reason I was asking was because you said it was the most expensive one you could find.
Unfortunately you just wasted a lot of money on something that doesn't matter too much in terms of brand.
Any of the other CR2032 batteries on the Amazon link you posted would've done the job.
Normally CMOS batteries tend to last 3-5 years at a minimum.
I installed that one a month ago. I was the most expensive on in the local shop, and was stated at 225 mAh. All other batteries were 123 - 173 mAh and I didn't want those with low ratings. Is there any better top quality cmos battery you can recommend to me please? I will just ask any local shop if they can import it.
 

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I installed that one a month ago. I was the most expensive on in the local shop, and was stated at 225 mAh. All other batteries were 123 - 173 mAh and I didn't want those with low ratings. Is there any better top quality cmos battery you can recommend to me please? I will just ask any local shop if they can import it.
Sorry, but what you have is more than good enough. I get whatever they sell in the local 7-11 or some random shop in the computer market.
CMOS batteries are not a thing I've ever really paid too much attention to, as I've never had to since sometime in the 90's, when they weren't standardised.
 
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1:
Hi, so just a quick question. Why does my motherboard ask me "F1 to run setup or F2 to load defaults" after I plug out the power to swap parts etc? Is there an option in the bios to tell it to just continue with the last bios configuration? It's not a problem at all, I'm just asking out of curiosity; my motherboard is working flawlessly and I also installed a most expensive bios battery I could find.

2:
Here's a hilarious one. Recently a neighbor called a pc guy from a local pc service shop, to install a new cpu cooler for his pc. The pc guy installed the cooler and after that there was no post, no reaction to the power button, nothing. The pc guy claimed he had to take out the cmos for the pc to start working again. Does that normally happen that the motherboard is half dead after changing the cpu cooler? Also the pc guy neglected to say he obviously hit the motherboard with a big magnetic screwdriver multiple times while his hands were shaking. When I arrived at the scene of comedy and tragedy, the pc was in a reboot loop, usb ports were failing and loosing contact, and pc guy wrote the bill and ran off almost literally, leaving his screwdriver and a bunch of stuff behind. Since that my neighbors motherboard randomly resets the bios to default when plugged into power, loses contact with usb ports, mouse freezes, etc. Thoughts? Because he is nagging me all the time with that.
1. Because you swapped parts. This is absolutely normal and has nothing to do with the CMOS battery as the problem is described (if you didn't swap parts, it shouldn't do that and it likely IS the battery).
2. Who knows what is going on there. In that case I would look into a new battery (to prevent BIOS resetting - will not resolve the USB port/mouse freeze thing).
 
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1. If you swap parts ... the BIOS is telling you to make sure the new parts have correct BIOS settings and is properly giving you the opportunity to do so.

2. The 1st thing I look at after new cooler installs is did the installer go into the BIOS and adjust the rpm trigger. The teeny fan that comes on stock cooler or cheap coolers generally spins a lot higher than quality after market coolers. So if the BIOS is set to trigger a stop or other action when rpm is < 1800 ... you will have problems with a new cooler that maxes out at 1200 rpm. Reset it to below the fan speed of the new cooler.

After that unplug / replug remove / reinsert all cables and components ... may have knocked something loose. overtighten the hold down screws

If CMOS lost contact, reset all BIOS settings to default ... ake sure after to check rpm again.

Fonally overtightening the cooler hold down screws may have made a circuit trace contact point intermittent. Loosen the screws a abit to see if it remedies situation.
 
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So my neighbor still has problems - how to fully physically diagnose a mobo? Please tell me what tools should be used.
 
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Well, the first step is to give people as little information as possible, and then make them drag the info out of you piece by piece. Excellent job so far.
 
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Symptoms, error codes, sound codes if you have a speaker, recent hardware of software changes... You name it. You start depending on the feedback the machine gaves.
 
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So my neighbor still has problems - how to fully physically diagnose a mobo?
Well, the first step is to give people as little information as possible, and then make them drag the info out of you piece by piece. Excellent job so far.
I would like if someone could tell me what physical equipment should be used to physically diagnose a motherboard that is behaving strangely. (About the behavior is another thread, this thread is dedicated to tools.)
 
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I would like if someone could tell me what physical equipment should be used to physically diagnose a motherboard that is behaving strangely. (About the behavior is another thread, this thread is dedicated to tools.)
It probably should be all in one since it's the same subject (troubleshooting/fixing your neighbors mobo issue). ;)

That said... eyes. Look the board over for swollen or broken caps, char marks... reseat and inspect the connections, remove the cpu and inspect the socket for bent pins, etc.
 
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I would like if someone could tell me what physical equipment should be used to physically diagnose a motherboard that is behaving strangely. (About the behavior is another thread, this thread is dedicated to tools.)
A digital multi-meter with built-in continuity tester is about it. Beyond that, equipment for testing ICs/chips is going to be too expensive to be worth the investment. Unless you can physically see an anomaly, randomly testing with a multimeter is a hail-mary compared to troubleshooting behavior.
 
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First of all, strip it to the bare bones i.e just the keyboard and monitor and then make sure there's a tiny speaker on the mobo, if possible because you'll hear beeps and those beeps mean something depending on the BIOS...Phoenix, AMIBios etc
You might not even need the GPU connected depending on the CPU/Mobo combo. The beeps and keyboard response usually tell me if there's a problem i.e no lights on the keyboard (caps lock) and long beeps. Usually, anything more than one beep spells trouble, so disconnect the power and start on the memory one by one.
As for tools, I'll let others comment on that.
 
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...That said... eyes. Look the board over for swollen or broken caps...

All the intermittent mobo problems I've had lately have turned out to be Caps.

Look at the tops and bottoms; stuff on the PCB near the bottom of the cap, or the top being swollen will be a sure sign.

If it's over 10 years old, this is likely. :)
 
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My neighbor replaced the bios battery today and reinstaled windows. Same things happening again. What now guys?
Its possible a usb port or controller is going bad.. but there really isnt a way to test it. Did he swap ports? If there are some that use a different controller (check at mobo website spec or manual), swap to it and verify. Are you sure it isnt the mouse? Try another to verify. Basic binary troubleshooting and process of elimination.


Edit: Did you really buy that ~$1200 battery you linked? Wth?
 
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It is impossible to "fully" diagnose a motherboard these days. To do so requires full schematics and those are never published any more. So even if you have a decent scope or multimeter, without a schematic, you would not know what to expect at any given test point or lead. The factories can do it because they have "mock up" test beds to connect the boards to. But users and even service techs don't.

The best you can is conduct a visual inspection to look for burnt components, leaky or swollen caps.
 
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When you say behaving strangely, can you be more elaborate? Things to try, fresh windows install on new drive, swap ram, cpu, power supply and video card. If issues persists it's definitely the motherboard, you could try a new bios but that's everything you can do. Others have suggested more elaborate means of finding the fault, please update us on progress.
 
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I would like if someone could tell me what physical equipment should be used to physically diagnose a motherboard that is behaving strangely. (About the behavior is another thread, this thread is dedicated to tools.)

One thing that comes to mind for tools, is a good old fashioned multi-meter.
 
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So my neighbor still has problems - how to fully physically diagnose a mobo? Please tell me what tools should be used.

These are not repairable for 99% of people. Beyond error/beep codes you simply replace not repair.
 
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