PC problem

by **wez** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:45 am

i can troubleshoot mac issues all day long, but i'm not so nerdy with PCs...

my machine - 6 year old HP/Compaq WinXP/Intel - is doing two odd things. first, when i power up the studio, it's starting automatically. secondly, it doesn't boot normally, but goes into the hardware display screen. it also reports "CMOS SETTINGS WRONG". it boots normally when i hit F2.

it has only just started doing this, not every time, but most times i power up... i wonder if it's a dodgy power switch? prior to this, the machine often needed 2 or 3 presses of the on button to get going. i did read somewhere about this being a symptom of bad PS caps (?)

any advice from PC geeks would be warmly welcomed!

cheers, wez

by **davek** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:40 am

sounds like the BIOS backup battery might have gone flat. if you are lucky, it will be a replacable CR2302 button cell battery. If you are unlucky, it might be soldered to the motherboard :(

by **Kurt** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:18 pm

I think Dave's on the money. Even if it's soldered it's not that difficult to replace (in my experience) Having said that most of them are a button type battery that's very easily replaced.

davek wrote:sounds like the BIOS backup battery might have gone flat. if you are lucky, it will be a replacable CR2302 button cell battery. If you are unlucky, it might be soldered to the motherboard :(

by **wez** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:56 pm

cool, that'd be an easy fix either way, i'll check... many thanks

w

by **heathen** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:43 pm

I reckon it could be the power switch, I've seen them do weird stuff like that too. Dead battery is very likely also.

by **mylesgm** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:56 pm

the problem is you have a pc...

by **Chinagraf** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:56 pm

Oooh, I had this happen once, the having to push the power button a few times to get it going, and thought it was the power supply. It would start going then switch off, making a chirp sound, a bit like a cricket who can only sing staccato. Turned out after much troubleshooting that it was my main program drive starting to crap itself.
I had to clone the drive and swap the clone with the main drive. The I stabbed the old drive over and over... back your stuff up Wez, the end could be near.
Hope not though.

by **mark rachelle** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:02 pm

i just got back from a fishing trip today, the boat needed a new anchor ;0)

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