Starting up always asks to press F1 into the Bios

[Kovoet]

Recently I had a problem where the system when starting up was telling me to press F1 into the Bios stating there was a problem with boot up and raid.
Did a little investigation as I thought there was a problem with my SSD.M2 stick so I installed a new spare one I had and still had the problem

Then I remembered someone on here years back talking about the CMOS battery so went to the local supermarket and bought a 2032 battery and problem sorted.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, always being prompted to enter the BIOS Setup Menu is a classic symptom of a failed CMOS battery.

Note the purpose of the battery is to hold user custom and HW settings (including RAM sizes, drive types and boot order, etc.) when the computer is powered off. Then next time the computer boots, when the saved settings match what the boot process sees (checksums agree), all is good, you hear a single short beep (if a system speaker is present) indicating a successful POST (power-on self test) and the boot process continues.

But if the battery cannot hold the BIOS settings, they revert back to the factory defaults. Then the checksums don't match and you are prompted to enter the BIOS Setup Menu and make the necessary changes.

In some cases, the system clock always resets back to the factory default too - another classic symptom.

Anyway, I am glad you got it sorted out and thanks for posting your findings.

BTW, on further thought, is this the same computer listed in your system specs? If so, how do you power off your computer? I ask because the ATX Form Factor standard for PCs requires all ATX compliant power supplies to provide +5Vsb standby voltages to several points on the motherboard whenever the computer is simply shutdown by the case's front panel power button, or when in sleep/standby mode. This +5Vsb voltage typically keeps the CMOS/BIOS settings "alive" and set, and thus would NOT drain the CMOS battery.

Typically, the only way to completely remove that +5Vsb from all points is to unplug the power supply from the wall, or (if it has one) flip the master power switch on the back of the PSU to the off position. Alternatively, if the computer is plugged into a power strip or switched wall outlet, and the user uses the power strip or wall switch to kill power completely, that would totally remove all power from the motherboard.

Generally, just letting the computer go to sleep is best - not just to keep those settings alive but it allows Windows to do needed housekeeping (like defragging hard drives, running TRIM and wear-leveling on SSDs, running updates, indexing and more) when the computer is not in use.

While I have seen CR2032s that were DOA, and I have seen some only last a year or two, typically they last 5, 7 or even 10 years. So just curious what happened here that you needed a new battery?

 

[Kovoet]

Yes it is and enable for that. I turn it off at the wall everyday but will now turn the power supply off as well. Thanks so much for the heads up

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yes it is and enable for that. I turn it off at the wall everyday but will now turn the power supply off as well.

Ummm, no. You misunderstand me. Turning it off at the wall and the power supply does the same thing - it removes that +5Vsb voltage. That is what drains the CMOS battery and it prevents Windows from doing necessary housekeeping during idle times.

My recommendation is to simply let the computer go to sleep when you are done using it. Or at the most, go through the Start Menu and initiate a Shut Down. That is, leave the wall switch on and leave the master power switch on the back of the PSU to the On position.

 

[Kovoet]

Thanks bud re-read it and fully understand and will do. Thanks for the advice