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Thread: BIOS Corrupted.

  1. #1
    Crazy Diamond
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    Default BIOS Corrupted.

    Got a failed boot up on my PC today with message that the BIOS is corrupted, reverting to secondary BIOS, please wait.
    Lucky I have a dual BIOS mobo.
    Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Motherboard

    What would cause it to become corrupted?

    Note; I updated the BIOS a couple of years back trying to solve a hardware conflict with my built in audio card on the MoBo. It's been working fine since.
    The conflict ended up being Win10 installing the wrong driver when upgrading from Win8.

    I'm going to look for another BIOS update on the MoBo website, as I'm currently on back up BIOS with the other corrupted & would like a fall back in case it happens again.

    Still puzzled why this would happen.

    Only thing I've done recently is opened up the PC to vacuum out the dust, clean the fans & CPU heat sink. Also removed & reseated the 2 RAM sticks. That was about 2 weeks ago though & no sign of anything since.
    Last edited by Tiny; 27-09-18 at 10:31 AM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Senior Member joezep's Avatar
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    Maybe the battery is going flat

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    Tiny (27-09-18)

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    which rev is it
    all 3 look the same but 1.2 has a different name than 1 & 1.1
    probably what you have as theyre 2014, but a new 1 wont hurt
    hope it fixes it
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    Tiny (27-09-18)

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    I'm thinking along the lines of Battery, too. Can't hurt to change it.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Tiny (27-09-18)

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    Quote Originally Posted by joezep View Post
    Maybe the battery is going flat
    good point, I'll check that after the currently running full system backup is completed.

    I just successfully backed up the old secondary BIOS & flashed the latest BIOS again as it was the latest BIOS that failed & there are no more updates available for it.

    How long should a CMOS battery live for? I've never replaced one, however I probably haven't had any of my other PC's as long as this one.
    Crap! just looked up that I built this thing in 2013, 5 years ago.

    Google search gives me 3-5 years average lifespan, so a new battery it will get.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philquad View Post
    which rev is it
    all 3 look the same but 1.2 has a different name than 1 & 1.1
    probably what you have as theyre 2014, but a new 1 wont hurt
    hope it fixes it
    yeah thanks phil, we already did the Rev1.1 stuff back here,
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    I'm thinking along the lines of Battery, too. Can't hurt to change it.
    just happen to have a new CR2032 Energizer here that I had as a spare for Digital Vernier Caliper.

    cool hope that's all it is, however at least by flashing the BIOS, changing the battery & doing a full system backup, I can rest easy that I've covered all bases just in case it turns out to be something else.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    OK, next question, do I replace the battery with system powered on or off?
    BIOS settings & clock will be reset to default if I remove battery when no power supply, but is it safe to replace the battery with power on & system running when the battery is not in use to maintain CMOS memory?

    Found this, but I'm not sure,
    The battery is used to offset the leakage in the CMOS memory to allow it to retain data when main power supply voltage is not present. The battery is not in use until the circuit senses that main power has dropped below battery voltage. So if you remove the battery and put it back while main power is present, nothing happens. There is no data loss. If you remove the battery while main supply is not present, then retention of the data is not guaranteed but is possible if time without battery is short and temperature is cool.
    Last edited by Tiny; 27-09-18 at 06:30 PM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    In 30 years of servicing computers, I've ALWAYS changed a CMOS battery with the power switched off.

    As long as you do not take all day to do this there will be no loss of data.

    I'd be VERY hesitant about changing the battery with the power applied, as there is always a possibility of shorting something on the motherboard while doing so.

    Goodness me! Such a lot of fuss over a CMOS battery change.

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    hinekadon (27-09-18)

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    power off

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    Tiny (28-09-18)

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    Quote Originally Posted by tristen View Post
    In 30 years of servicing computers, I've ALWAYS changed a CMOS battery with the power switched off.

    As long as you do not take all day to do this there will be no loss of data.

    I'd be VERY hesitant about changing the battery with the power applied, as there is always a possibility of shorting something on the motherboard while doing so.

    Goodness me! Such a lot of fuss over a CMOS battery change.
    What fuss? I asked one question about the battery change, power on or off!
    The battery may not even need changing as it may not be the cause of the BIOS corruption

    FYI, I changed the battery with power off, took ~5 seconds from battery out to new battery in, then when restarting got a message on screen with 3 choices that said; BIOS has been reset, load default optimum settings & boot, or load default optimum settings & reboot, or enter BIOS.
    This may not be significant for some builds, however for me I had to go back into BIOS & enable my backup drive hot swap slot on the front of the tower, as it is disabled by default. Not a big deal.
    Don't think I had any other custom BIOS settings, will have to look at my build notes to find out or wait to see which other peripheral slots are disabled.

    Sorry for wasting your time.
    Thanks to all for your help.
    Hopefully no more corrupted BIOS messages.

    EDIT: The old battery was not flat, still reads 3.01v on my multimeter.
    Last edited by Tiny; 28-09-18 at 10:35 AM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    ...EDIT: The old battery was not flat, still reads 3.01v on my multimeter.
    Sometimes the battery contacts make intermittent contact due to contamination/electrolysis on either the contacts themselves or the surface of the battery.

    Minimal or no finger contact with the the battery surface is recommended in order to reduce/eliminate this possibility.

    **As a matter of course, batteries should always be tested under load.
    Last edited by tristen; 28-09-18 at 01:44 PM.

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