Weird BIOS problem

arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

I recently tried to upgrade to WMP11, but after numerous problems, I got rid of it. Not just uninstalling it, by replacing the entire C drive with a backed up Ghost image.

Since then, I'm constantly losing cdrom drives. Deleting upper and lower filters in registry doesn't work because the drives aren't recognised by BIOS. The only cure is to reset cmos, reconfigure BIOS settings and reboot. All is fine till the next time, which is usually a couple of days later when I have to do it all again. I updated BIOS but no change.

Board is an Asus P5B Deluxe Wifi and all drivers are up to date. Obviously something is affecting BIOS, but what? Any ideas would be more than welcome.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Tue 05/06/2008 6:11am [Post #2]

Try changing the CMOS/BIOS battery on the board. It's flat, round, and very similar in size/shape to a U.S. Nickel

Partie

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

Already did that with no change.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Tue 05/06/2008 7:12pm [Post #4]

Have you updated the BIOS recently? If not, give that a shot. Did you test the battery you put in? Grab a multimeter and test the battery out.

Partie

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

As I said in my original post, BIOS were updated and the battery was a new one. I left everything running for 8 hours to make sure the battery was charged, but the problem was still there after update and battery change. It's got me beat.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Wed 05/07/2008 11:12am [Post #6]

What motherboard make/model is this?

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

I appreciate your help, really I do, but I think it would help if you read my original post which answers both questions you've asked.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Wed 05/07/2008 10:15pm [Post #8]

Holy crap, sorry, it looks like I forgot how to read! That was horrible. Embarassed

I have more questions which you hopefully didn't answer already Smile

..

The CD Drives that you're losing IDE or SATA? If IDE are they on the same channel or is 1 SATA and 1 IDE? I dunno, looking for system specs I guess..

Are you over-clocking? The ghost image, was the data verified? What kind of problems were you having with WMP 11?

Also, the battery being a new one doesn't really help anything. Who knows how long that thing has sat on a shelf waiting to be purchased or if it was just plain defective from the manufacturer...

Have you checked the motherboard for any physical defects such as blown caps or signs of warping/overheating?

Did you change the CLRTC jumper position? According to your manual it should be set on 1&2 (it's located in between the cmos battery and the primary IDE connector). That jumper will clear CMOS if not set correctly (normal = 1&2, clear = 2&3). The manual also mentions a "cap". I'm not sure if they are meaning the jumper itself or another type of cover. "Except when clearing the RTC RAM, never remove the cap on CLRTC jumper default position. Removing the cap will cause system boot failure!"

I'm also wondering if you're having some problem with the C.P.R. functionality (Page 1-8 of your manual).

That's all I have for now and again, sorry for the lack of reading earlier!

Partie

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

I finally solved it - I hope!

Loss of cdrom drives was down to the onboard JMICRON SATA/PATA controller being disabled. Re-enabling it got back the drives (which is what the cmos reset was doing) but was disabling again on its own. A couple of hours on the net gave me a long list of suggestions to try to solve the problem. Another couple of hours of start and restart bore fruit. The solution seems to be, and this is a strange one by any stretch of the imagination, as follows.

I connect my 2 desktops to the net via ethernet cables, and have WiFi enabled for a laptop and an Archos 605. All I did was to open Network Places and click on the Hide networked UPnP devices, which were showing up as icons, close the window and restart. Not only did this stabilise the situation - so far at least, I also get all of my taskbar icons showing, which had also been a problem but I hadn't connected the two events.

The only explanation I can get for this odd behaviour is that WMP11 somehow reset the UPnP settings, which remained after I uninstalled it. How that affected the BIOS, I'm at a loss to understand. The only connection, for want of a better word, is the onboard WiFi chip, but who the heck knows?

Bottom line is, the problem has gone, CDRom and DVD drives are back, UPnP devices still connect, taskbar icons are back and I can get on with some real work. I'm also very happy sticking with WMP10!! Jeez, I never thought I'd say that!!

Footnote....As I run Vista on a dual boot, I already have WMP11 installed and it works perfectly. And that's the point, it was designed for Vista, not XP. I'm sure it works well for others, but not me.

Thanks Partie for your input, hopefully this will help others.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Thu 05/08/2008 4:54pm [Post #10]

Thanks for the heads up on the fix! Glad you got it working!

Partie

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