After power failure, some problems...
in [Hardware]
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From: JD on 7 Nov 2009 20:41 When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be validated. However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the CD. But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This machine has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a floppy drive and floppy disk controller installed and "working properly." Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and floppy disk controllers? Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK now.
From: Paul on 7 Nov 2009 22:11 JD wrote: > When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I > corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be validated. > However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the CD. > But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This machine > has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a floppy drive and > floppy disk controller installed and "working properly." > Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and floppy > disk controllers? > Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK now. > 1) Verify the CMOS battery is still working. Usually that is a CR2032 in a socket. Check with a multimeter, that it measures 3.0V or a bit more. You can pick up a ground, on any shiny metal or an I/O screw on the back I/O plate. You don't have to pull the battery to measure it. If the battery reads below 2.4V, that is not sufficient to power the CMOS RAM when the ATX power supply is switched off at the back or unplugged (or power failure). Your power fail symptoms tell me the battery is flat, but you can verify with the multimeter before tearing anything apart. 2) For the floppy, try a load setup defaults in the BIOS, save and exit. My guess would be, the SuperI/O chip has a floppy interface, and normally the BIOS would be setting a bit in the chip after power up, to make it look like no floppy is present. On modern systems, they may continue to use legacy rich chips. Then, to make it look like most of that is missing, they disable the devices in the SuperI/O during POST. A SuperI/O might have eight legacy devices, and it is likely each one has an enable/disable, to suit situations where connectors have not been connected to the interfaces in question. So the fact that yours has become visible, might be corrected by a power cycle and POST sequence. Or by a load setup defaults. I think I would fix the CMOS battery first, before working on the floppy issue. Paul
From: JD on 7 Nov 2009 23:03 I appreciate your extensive and thoughtful reply. However, to quote Casca, it was "Greek to me." I've never fooled with the BIOS, so I have no idea how to "load setup defaults in the BIOS." My instincts tell me that if I check "Do not use this device" in Device Manager, then the "resources" assigned to it will be regained, and no harm done. As for the system battery, it--and the computer--is six years old. I've never thought about the prospect of having to replace it, but I know that batteries don't last forever. "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message news:hd5cru$68p$1(a)aioe.org... > JD wrote: >> When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I >> corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be validated. >> However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the >> CD. >> But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This >> machine has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a >> floppy drive and floppy disk controller installed and "working properly." >> Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and >> floppy disk controllers? >> Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK >> now. > > 1) Verify the CMOS battery is still working. Usually that > is a CR2032 in a socket. Check with a multimeter, that it > measures 3.0V or a bit more. You can pick up a ground, on > any shiny metal or an I/O screw on the back I/O plate. > You don't have to pull the battery to measure it. > If the battery reads below 2.4V, that is not sufficient > to power the CMOS RAM when the ATX power supply is switched > off at the back or unplugged (or power failure). > > Your power fail symptoms tell me the battery is flat, > but you can verify with the multimeter before tearing > anything apart. > > 2) For the floppy, try a load setup defaults in the BIOS, > save and exit. > > My guess would be, the SuperI/O chip has a floppy interface, > and normally the BIOS would be setting a bit in the chip > after power up, to make it look like no floppy is present. > On modern systems, they may continue to use legacy rich > chips. Then, to make it look like most of that is > missing, they disable the devices in the SuperI/O during > POST. A SuperI/O might have eight legacy devices, and > it is likely each one has an enable/disable, to suit > situations where connectors have not been connected > to the interfaces in question. So the fact that yours > has become visible, might be corrected by a power cycle and > POST sequence. Or by a load setup defaults. > > I think I would fix the CMOS battery first, before > working on the floppy issue. > > Paul
From: Paul on 7 Nov 2009 23:50 JD wrote: > I appreciate your extensive and thoughtful reply. However, to quote Casca, > it was "Greek to me." I've never fooled with the BIOS, so I have no idea how > to "load setup defaults in the BIOS." > My instincts tell me that if I check "Do not use this device" in Device > Manager, then the "resources" assigned to it will be regained, and no harm > done. > As for the system battery, it--and the computer--is six years old. I've > never thought about the prospect of having to replace it, but I know that > batteries don't last forever. The CR2032 doesn't last forever, so you eventually get to learn how to change it. I've replaced a couple here already, and I know some of my other retired computers need them changed too. The battery tends to flop around, so make sure the power is off before you start. The battery should only fit one way, and even if it went in backwards, the Schottky diode in that path should prevent damage to the computer. As consumer goods go, this circuit is fairly well protected. Since your time reset to 2002, that means the battery was too weak to maintain the time. The RTC (real time clock) and CMOS RAM (256 bytes to hold BIOS settings) are powered by the battery, only when the +5VSB on the power supply is shut off. And that happens when you switch off the supply at the back. Since you haven't had a problem getting your computer to boot, since the "2002" event, that tells me there is nothing critical in your BIOS screens. You must have been using default settings since the computer was purchased. On some computers, you need to correct the boot order, before they behave themselves. If you enter the BIOS setup screens, the "Exit" menu has a few different options. One would be "Save and Exit", which is used to save any changes made during the session. Another would be to "Discard changes", in case you regret messing around with the settings. There may also be a "Load Setup Defaults" in the same menu. I don't really think that controls floppy visibility, but it is the only thing I can think of, other than simply power cycling the equipment again, to make the floppy interface go away. The BIOS should really have a chunk of code, which disables the floppy interface, each time the computer starts. And the control of that bit, shouldn't be stored in the CMOS. But if it is actually stored in the CMOS, then a Load Setup Defaults may be enough to repair it. I recommend looking in your BIOS, just for the learning experience. Some computers have a really dumbed down BIOS, and there isn't that much in them. Others have a horrendous number of options. If you have a look in there, who knows, you may be able to help some other person, with "the battery problem" :-) If you need help with BIOS options, scroll down this web page, to find a summary of some of them. Not every item here, provides sufficient info to solve problems, but this collection is better than what is in a lot of computer user manuals. http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx Paul
From: Richard Urban on 8 Nov 2009 01:09 Your bios was reset due to a failed mother board battery. Now you have to replace the battery and set the bios to what YOU feel it should be. Apparently the default setting allows for a floppy drive, which you don't use. There may be other settings that have to be changed to your liking. -- Richard Urban Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience & Security "JD" <erehwon(a)example.com> wrote in message news:eyVk9hCYKHA.4452(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >I appreciate your extensive and thoughtful reply. However, to quote Casca, >it was "Greek to me." I've never fooled with the BIOS, so I have no idea >how to "load setup defaults in the BIOS." > My instincts tell me that if I check "Do not use this device" in Device > Manager, then the "resources" assigned to it will be regained, and no harm > done. > As for the system battery, it--and the computer--is six years old. I've > never thought about the prospect of having to replace it, but I know that > batteries don't last forever. > "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message news:hd5cru$68p$1(a)aioe.org... >> JD wrote: >>> When I noticed that my system clock had been reset to Jan. 1, 2002, I >>> corrected it manually, and that allowed my A-V "license" to be >>> validated. >>> However, to my surprise, I had to reinstall the audio drivers from the >>> CD. >>> But My Computer now shows the presence of a floppy drive (A). This >>> machine has never had a floppy drive. Hardware Manager shows both a >>> floppy drive and floppy disk controller installed and "working >>> properly." >>> Should I use the Hardware Manager to "remove" the floppy drive--and >>> floppy disk controllers? >>> Or just leave well enough alone. Everything else seems to be working OK >>> now. >> >> 1) Verify the CMOS battery is still working. Usually that >> is a CR2032 in a socket. Check with a multimeter, that it >> measures 3.0V or a bit more. You can pick up a ground, on >> any shiny metal or an I/O screw on the back I/O plate. >> You don't have to pull the battery to measure it. >> If the battery reads below 2.4V, that is not sufficient >> to power the CMOS RAM when the ATX power supply is switched >> off at the back or unplugged (or power failure). >> >> Your power fail symptoms tell me the battery is flat, >> but you can verify with the multimeter before tearing >> anything apart. >> >> 2) For the floppy, try a load setup defaults in the BIOS, >> save and exit. >> >> My guess would be, the SuperI/O chip has a floppy interface, >> and normally the BIOS would be setting a bit in the chip >> after power up, to make it look like no floppy is present. >> On modern systems, they may continue to use legacy rich >> chips. Then, to make it look like most of that is >> missing, they disable the devices in the SuperI/O during >> POST. A SuperI/O might have eight legacy devices, and >> it is likely each one has an enable/disable, to suit >> situations where connectors have not been connected >> to the interfaces in question. So the fact that yours >> has become visible, might be corrected by a power cycle and >> POST sequence. Or by a load setup defaults. >> >> I think I would fix the CMOS battery first, before >> working on the floppy issue. >> >> Paul > >
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