BIOS chip or MB (A7N8X Deluxe)

The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got no
video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity or
indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink and MB,
reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still had the same
indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup battery and reset
BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was able to enter the setup
utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes I got the same indications
as mentioned above. So I reset again, and again got video and was able
to enter setup but was unable to “save any” BIOS settings without it
reverting back to the “black screen of death.” I repeated it several
more times to ensure that it was consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what the
probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s the MB
circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want to spend the
money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe

In article , JBC wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got no
video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity or
indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink and MB,
reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still had the same
indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup battery and reset
BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was able to enter the setup
utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes I got the same indications
as mentioned above. So I reset again, and again got video and was able
to enter setup but was unable to “save any” BIOS settings without it
reverting back to the “black screen of death.” I repeated it several
more times to ensure that it was consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what the
probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s the MB
circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want to spend the
money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board. They cost
like $2.99 at walmart.

GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got no
video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity or
indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink and MB,
reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still had the same
indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup battery and reset
BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was able to enter the setup
utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes I got the same indications
as mentioned above. So I reset again, and again got video and was able
to enter setup but was unable to “save any” BIOS settings without it
reverting back to the “black screen of death.” I repeated it several
more times to ensure that it was consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what the
probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s the MB
circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want to spend the
money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board. They cost
like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've never
seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the "Battery
backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's there just in
case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your BIOS settings. A
capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while you have AC power. If
you loose AC power that battery takes over until such time that AC power
is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

In article ,
says...

GMAN wrote:
snip
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board. They cost
like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've never
seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the "Battery
backup" was dead;
snip

In my 26 years of working on PCs and their clones; I have. So you can
swap out the battery with a known good one and prove us wrong, or
have a working motherboard.


Joe






s

JBC wrote:
GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC
wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got
no video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity
or indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink
and MB, reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still had
the same indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup battery
and reset BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was able to
enter the setup utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes I got
the same indications as mentioned above. So I reset again, and again
got video and was able to enter setup but was unable to “save any”
BIOS settings without it reverting back to the “black screen of
death.” I repeated it several more times to ensure that it was
consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what
the probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s the
MB circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want to
spend the money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board. They
cost like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've never
seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the "Battery
backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's there just in
case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your BIOS settings. A
capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while you have AC power. If
you loose AC power that battery takes over until such time that AC power
is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

That would depend on whether there was damage to the dual ORing diode
feeding 3V to the Southbridge. If the path from +5VSB/3VSB is burned out,
you'd be dependent on the battery. The diode is sometimes damaged
by using the "clear CMOS" jumper and leaving the power on the
computer running.

As an example, download this document and look at page 18. If diode
D2 is burned, then you're dependent on the CMOS battery and D3, to
save settings. Many motherboards in the past, would short node JP17
to ground, as a way to "clear CMOS", as an example of a way that
diode D2 can be burned if the computer power is left on. On
modern computers, both of those diodes are housed in a three pin
package that looks like a SMT transistor. The burned dual diode can be
burned bad enough, that you can't read the part number off of it,
to order a replacement.

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets...x/BXDPDG10.htm

There was a serious bug with those motherboards, in that saving settings
could result in the motherboard never posting again.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/image-vp32049.html

But your symptoms don't match that bug, as you're able to recover.
My theory is far-fetched, and I don't have any other suggestions as
to why settings could not be saved in the CMOS 256 byte RAM block.
You'd think, in any case, the motherboard would compute the checksum
on the CMOS block (no matter what state it is in), and figure out it
was corrupted, and return everything to default settings again. It
shouldn't really black screen, unless the checksum is correct by accident,
and the BIOS "eats" the bad settings.

If you have a magnifying glass, the dual diode typically has a marking
of "K45" on top, and should be located in the neighborhood of the battery.

Other places to look for a symptom match, would be these forums

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx...nguage =en-us

or some of the nforcershq.com postings might help. This site has a
glossy new GUI... the downside, is it's harder to find the posts
for the older motherboards.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/post562671.html#p562671

Paul

Steve wrote:
In article ,
says...
GMAN wrote:
snip
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board. They cost
like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've never
seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the "Battery
backup" was dead;
snip

In my 26 years of working on PCs and their clones; I have. So you can
swap out the battery with a known good one and prove us wrong, or
have a working motherboard.

Joe

You're a dense prick, my longevity quote was clearly an "I'm not a
sap(newbie)" statement because GMAN's answer was obviously rushed.
While your's is clearly all about competition as with the sarcasm. I
know a man that's been with various women for over 67 years and still
doesn't know how to treat them. Obviously long lived exposure doesn't
necessarily equate with knowledge. Grow up boy and stop using computers
to release your misplaced frustrations.

Check out Paul's response. He's got class and it has nothing to do with
his knowledge, but rather his attitude. He seems to really want to help
someone, A TRUE Gentleman and Scholar. You sound like a washed up
loser, get a grip. Thanks for nothing!

Paul wrote:
JBC wrote:
GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC
wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got
no video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity
or indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink
and MB, reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still
had the same indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup
battery and reset BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was
able to enter the setup utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes
I got the same indications as mentioned above. So I reset again, and
again got video and was able to enter setup but was unable to “save
any” BIOS settings without it reverting back to the “black screen of
death.” I repeated it several more times to ensure that it was
consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what
the probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s
the MB circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want
to spend the money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board.
They cost like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've
never seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the
"Battery backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's there
just in case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your BIOS
settings. A capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while you have
AC power. If you loose AC power that battery takes over until such
time that AC power is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

That would depend on whether there was damage to the dual ORing diode
feeding 3V to the Southbridge. If the path from +5VSB/3VSB is burned out,
you'd be dependent on the battery. The diode is sometimes damaged
by using the "clear CMOS" jumper and leaving the power on the
computer running.

As an example, download this document and look at page 18. If diode
D2 is burned, then you're dependent on the CMOS battery and D3, to
save settings. Many motherboards in the past, would short node JP17
to ground, as a way to "clear CMOS", as an example of a way that
diode D2 can be burned if the computer power is left on. On
modern computers, both of those diodes are housed in a three pin
package that looks like a SMT transistor. The burned dual diode can be
burned bad enough, that you can't read the part number off of it,
to order a replacement.

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets...x/BXDPDG10.htm

There was a serious bug with those motherboards, in that saving settings
could result in the motherboard never posting again.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/image-vp32049.html

But your symptoms don't match that bug, as you're able to recover.
My theory is far-fetched, and I don't have any other suggestions as
to why settings could not be saved in the CMOS 256 byte RAM block.
You'd think, in any case, the motherboard would compute the checksum
on the CMOS block (no matter what state it is in), and figure out it
was corrupted, and return everything to default settings again. It
shouldn't really black screen, unless the checksum is correct by accident,
and the BIOS "eats" the bad settings.

If you have a magnifying glass, the dual diode typically has a marking
of "K45" on top, and should be located in the neighborhood of the battery.

Other places to look for a symptom match, would be these forums

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx...nguage =en-us


or some of the nforcershq.com postings might help. This site has a
glossy new GUI... the downside, is it's harder to find the posts
for the older motherboards.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/post562671.html#p562671

Paul

Thanks a lot Paul. I really appreciate the length at which you'll go to
help someone. And unlike some people, you address the problem and not
the symptoms. Very professional in deed (indeed)!

Now I'll take some time and mull over all the resources you've been kind
enough to provide.

Again thanks much. I hope I can someday repay you, or maybe it will
just be enough to pay it forward. ;-)

Have a good one!

JBC wrote in
:

GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC
wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and
got no video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other
activity or indications. After removing all cards, dusting off
CPU heatsink and MB, reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping
Vid card I still had the same indications. So I decided to
remove the RTC/Setup battery and reset BIOS to defaults. Upon
boot I got video and was able to enter the setup utility but as
soon as I “saved any” changes I got the same indications as
mentioned above. So I reset again, and again got video and was
able to enter setup but was unable to “save any” BIOS settings
without it reverting back to the “black screen of death.” I
repeated it several more times to ensure that it was consistent,
and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell
what the probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or
that it’s the MB circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I
really don’t want to spend the money on the chip just to find
out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board.
They cost like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've
never seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the
"Battery backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's
there just in case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your
BIOS settings. A capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while
you have AC power. If you loose AC power that battery takes over
until such time that AC power is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

Joe, I have the Rev 2.xx version, and I had a similar problem, just
slightly different, and replacement of the battery did the trick.

Give it a try.

Stranger things have happened, it's just another "funny" that can
only be explained at significant cost and effort, much greater than
the $2.99 cost of the battery. Chill.

John Carter wrote:
JBC wrote in
:

GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC
wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and
got no video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other
activity or indications. After removing all cards, dusting off
CPU heatsink and MB, reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping
Vid card I still had the same indications. So I decided to
remove the RTC/Setup battery and reset BIOS to defaults. Upon
boot I got video and was able to enter the setup utility but as
soon as I “saved any” changes I got the same indications as
mentioned above. So I reset again, and again got video and was
able to enter setup but was unable to “save any” BIOS settings
without it reverting back to the “black screen of death.” I
repeated it several more times to ensure that it was consistent,
and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell
what the probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or
that it’s the MB circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I
really don’t want to spend the money on the chip just to find
out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board.
They cost like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've
never seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the
"Battery backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's
there just in case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your
BIOS settings. A capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while
you have AC power. If you loose AC power that battery takes over
until such time that AC power is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

Joe, I have the Rev 2.xx version, and I had a similar problem, just
slightly different, and replacement of the battery did the trick.

Give it a try.

Stranger things have happened, it's just another "funny" that can
only be explained at significant cost and effort, much greater than
the $2.99 cost of the battery. Chill.

How did you know I had a can of chill? Do you mean the CMOS EPROM or
one of the diodes Paul referred to?

I find it hard to believe that your kind can be so presumptuous. I have
not sought your council on interpersonal relationships, but rather
batteries, MB's and EPROM's. A wise man such as Paul knows that you get
what you give. That Psychology dictates that I'm a mirror, what you see
is merely you only clearer. Or in other words what you see in others is
a mere reflection of yourself, after all, you is all you truly know and
that's not certain. So I'll give you the same unsolicited deluded
condescension that you gave, CHILL!

Paul wrote:
JBC wrote:
GMAN wrote:
In article , JBC
wrote:
The other day I switched on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev 1.04 MB and got
no video signal (yellow LED on monitor) as well as no other activity
or indications. After removing all cards, dusting off CPU heatsink
and MB, reseating DIMM’s and Vid card & swapping Vid card I still
had the same indications. So I decided to remove the RTC/Setup
battery and reset BIOS to defaults. Upon boot I got video and was
able to enter the setup utility but as soon as I “saved any” changes
I got the same indications as mentioned above. So I reset again, and
again got video and was able to enter setup but was unable to “save
any” BIOS settings without it reverting back to the “black screen of
death.” I repeated it several more times to ensure that it was
consistent, and it was.

So my question is: with the indications above, can anyone tell what
the probability is that the problem is the BIOS chip or that it’s
the MB circuitry that supports the BIOS chip. I really don’t want
to spend the money on the chip just to find out it’s the board.

TIA,

Joe
You just need to replace the CR2032 battery that is on the board.
They cost like $2.99 at walmart.

Thanks,

But I don't think so. In my 16 years of building IBM clones, I've
never seen a MB whose BIOS wouldn't save data just because the
"Battery backup" was dead; which is all that battery does. It's there
just in case you loose AC power so you don't loose all your BIOS
settings. A capacitor actually keeps the BIOS settings while you have
AC power. If you loose AC power that battery takes over until such
time that AC power is restored.

Thanks anyway.

Joe

That would depend on whether there was damage to the dual ORing diode
feeding 3V to the Southbridge. If the path from +5VSB/3VSB is burned out,
you'd be dependent on the battery. The diode is sometimes damaged
by using the "clear CMOS" jumper and leaving the power on the
computer running.

As an example, download this document and look at page 18. If diode
D2 is burned, then you're dependent on the CMOS battery and D3, to
save settings. Many motherboards in the past, would short node JP17
to ground, as a way to "clear CMOS", as an example of a way that
diode D2 can be burned if the computer power is left on. On
modern computers, both of those diodes are housed in a three pin
package that looks like a SMT transistor. The burned dual diode can be
burned bad enough, that you can't read the part number off of it,
to order a replacement.

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets...x/BXDPDG10.htm

There was a serious bug with those motherboards, in that saving settings
could result in the motherboard never posting again.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/image-vp32049.html

But your symptoms don't match that bug, as you're able to recover.
My theory is far-fetched, and I don't have any other suggestions as
to why settings could not be saved in the CMOS 256 byte RAM block.
You'd think, in any case, the motherboard would compute the checksum
on the CMOS block (no matter what state it is in), and figure out it
was corrupted, and return everything to default settings again. It
shouldn't really black screen, unless the checksum is correct by accident,
and the BIOS "eats" the bad settings.

If you have a magnifying glass, the dual diode typically has a marking
of "K45" on top, and should be located in the neighborhood of the battery.

Other places to look for a symptom match, would be these forums

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx...nguage =en-us


or some of the nforcershq.com postings might help. This site has a
glossy new GUI... the downside, is it's harder to find the posts
for the older motherboards.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/post562671.html#p562671

Paul
It would seem that you're the singular altruistic group member here. I
of course don't include any like minded that have yet to have a voice in
this thread. I humbly respect those that humbly respect. I hate with
disdain those that hate with disdain. Hey I really am a mirror. But
seriously thanks!