Bios problem

Hey,
On my linux box (which i have built) everything seems to work fine apart from storing the bios settings when you power down. When the power lead is left in the settings are stored but when it is removed the bios settings reset, whilst i was builing the box i had a problem and had left the box for about 4 months or so without even touching it.

I have searched google for a solution but on several websites it says it is a problem with the cmos battery, it suggests replacing it but it also says they should last a few years without needing to be replaced.

So my real question is do i need to replace the battery or is this a problem with the motherboard, i cant see it being a problem with the motherboard because it seems to work fine but i am open to suggestions.

Any help would be appreciated

Thread moved from 'Server Administration' to 'General Chat' by zombie.

Reason:

The battery is the likely culprit. MB batteries are typically a 3-ish volt "coin" style battery. They only run about $3.00US. Why not just replace it and see if the symptom goes away?

Agreed...the battery is the best starting place.

ok i will get one today and try it.

It seems to work, however i had to remove the power cable today while it was powered off and left the pc for about 2 hours or so and when i booted it up it had lost the bios settings. However if i take the power cable out for a few minutes it doesnt lose the settings. That might of been a one off reset so ill see if it happens again.

that seems odd.... I think the bios can live for like 30 minutes without power before dying... but if you just got a new battery....

it seems to work, however my head is close to exploding trying to get a speedtouch modem to work on redhagt 9.0 with a stupid shell script that wont actually run in the shell, but that is a different matter.