Please help cpu warning cmos

[Cobra26]

Hi all,

First of all here are my specs:

Lian Li Tyr pcx500 case
Corsair HX650w
Intel Postville ssd 80gb
Intel core i7 920 (do) use stock cooling
EVGA X58 SLI LE
EVGA Gtx260 super clocked (55nm)
Western Digital Black 500gb
Mushkin 1600mhz 6gb
Sony Optiarc dvd burner
Razer Salmosa mouse
Labtec standand keyboard plus.
Windows Vista 64 Ultimate

I have no problems with my rig i installed everything and booted right at the first time, and since then no problems occured. But yesterday when i booted my pc up to windows i could not use my mouse and thus i couldnt reset my pc. So i was forced to press the power button (5 sec). And rebooted up until the post screen appeared. With this notification:

"warning cpu has been changed. please re-enter cpu settings in the cmos setup"

I never had this. So i did changed to default settings wich worked buy the way, and changed the settings for ram to 1600mhz (was 1333mhz) and no oc for cpu also worked. I did checked the pc health in bios. Cmos battery VBT=3.25V so thats good i assume below 3v its a sign that the battery is nearing its end but that would be odd since i have my rig for 4 months.

I have to admit every time i'm done with computing i turn of the pc and disconnect the power plug from the wallet. And sometimes i dont use the pc for 3 days. Maybe that could be the problem?? because the battery doesnt get "juice" and starts to use its own battery power when that is depleted the bios reverts to default thats my assumption...Or its due to suddenly turn of the power when i had my mouse problem it didnt close mormally (shutting all programs windows and telling bios its alright to turn of now) i closed it all of a sudden hence the forced shut down.

Any one with some feedback i'm starting to think my cpu has some error, or psu is bad or ram heck even my motherboard.

Thanks in advance

 

[Psi*]

I don't know with certainty as I have no experience with powering down routinely AND unplugging. Are you in a lightning prone area? That is the only incentive I would have for unplugging. Four months does seem a bit quick for the CMOS backup battery to fail, but again my unplugging a computer much less powering down is extremely rare..

On the other hand the symptoms do suggest that the battery is weak. Since the problem is not catastrophic as in being able to recover fairly quickly with only some inconvenience, it will be interesting to see if the problem repeats itself the next time that the machine is unplugged for a few days. If it does re-occur, get a new battery. The challenge will be finding only 1 that you can buy instead of at least 2 over priced cells.

 

[Tharic-Nar]

If it was a LGA 1156, i would have mentioned something along the lines of this....

But as this is not the case (i presume, but you never know) , then i'm kind of at a loss. Don't go by bought date for batteries, you don't know how long the boards been sitting on a shelf, in a box, packed away etc, as well as how long the battery itself may have been hanging around (since they're bought in bulk).

With my computer, i've had a constant problem with razer mice in that they will not respond sometimes when i boot up, i have to unplug and replug the usb connector for it to respond. Had it with both a Boomslang (classic - ball mouse) and my new-ish Lachesis. Doesn't matter what USB port they're plugged into, they just fail to respond sometimes. So the mouse problem could just be one of razer's quirks.

I've never replaced the battery on this motherboard, and it's been running for 7 or 8 years. I've had that message before as well, but typically, all i've needed to do is reboot and it's fine again, sometimes i just enter bios, save and exit/reboot, but it doesn't happen very often, once a year or so, lol. So yeah, it might be the battery, not expensive to find out i guess.

 

[Cobra26]

Thanks for the quick reply's guys

No i do not live in a lightning prone area. Its a bad habbit to unplug the power from the wallet. Some one told be its better to do so otherwise its still under current and thats not so good and its saves on your power bill as well. I did used a power meter to see how much it would consume. 19W when pc is shut down. 170W-190W idle and when heavy gaming (crysis for hours) 350W-370W this include everything pc,20inch tft screen, speakerset with subwoofer.

So 19W is not much.

And yeah good point with the razer mouse its the third time in 4 months. so i'm not the only one... i could not use my mouse the first 2 times a simple disconnect and reconnect helped the last one it didnt helped, as mentioned in my first post.

Forgot to ask:

Is it bad to unplug the power from the wallet every time i finish computing (ofcourse i shutt off the pc normally via windows) if so WHY is it bad (maybe for the cmos battery?)

Thanks in advance

 

[Tharic-Nar]

Unplugging it cuts the earth/ground connection, so if any static builds up, it has nowhere to discharge. Switch it off at the mains, or the switch on the back of the PSU, but don't unplug.

 

[Cobra26]

Thank for your reply

From now on i wont unplug it and see if it re-occurs. If it does happens again with the mouse not working (vista wont recognise) il swap the mouse.

But if the message (warning cpu etc etc) re-occurs again then its perhaps something with the board, smos battery, ram cpu....i hope not...

 

[2Tired2Tango]

"warning cpu has been changed. please re-enter cpu settings in the cmos setup"
...
I have to admit every time i'm done with computing i turn of the pc and disconnect the power plug from the wallet. And sometimes i dont use the pc for 3 days

It seems that either you have a CPU that doesn't overclock well or the CMOS is being changed...

Don't forget, overclocking is a bonus not part of the design. Chips are rated for speeds where they perform well without overheating or drawing too much power... some have better safety margins than others. If the chip was able to go significantly faster, it would be rated for a higher clock speed. If you get one that doesn't overclock very well --like the one in my desktop machine-- them's the breaks.

Now, about this unplugging the computer all the time... not good, on many levels.

First of all there are some pretty big capacitors hooked to the primary (cord) side of your power supply. These run through 4 diodes that rectify AC to DC. These diodes have current limits and if you exceed that current limit often enough, by cold starting the power supply it is going to fail. There is a reason most switching power supplies are in the "always on" state... look at the various wall warts and laptop supplies... always on... this is why.

Second when you plug in a PC power supply there is a moment when there is power applied but the regulators have not stabalized. This could result in very brief pulses of too much voltage to some parts of your system... there is always power on in a PC, something has to monitor the power switch. (This by the way is why you should always plug a notebook supply into the wall several seconds before plugging it into the computer)

Third when pulling a plug out of the wall do you ever notice the fans will jog for a split second... maybe half a turn or so? This is because as power drains from the supply it goes undervoltage on your motherboard (those always on, parts) and can actually cause a false startup and immediate shutdown of your computer... which can very easily scramble your CMOS.

It's not common, in fact it's kinda rare... but if you unplug a computer often enough, you will have the problem at some point.

 

[Cobra26]

It seems that either you have a CPU that doesn't overclock well or the CMOS is being changed...

Don't forget, overclocking is a bonus not part of the design. Chips are rated for speeds where they perform well without overheating or drawing too much power... some have better safety margins than others. If the chip was able to go significantly faster, it would be rated for a higher clock speed. If you get one that doesn't overclock very well --like the one in my desktop machine-- them's the breaks.

Now, about this unplugging the computer all the time... not good, on many levels.

First of all there are some pretty big capacitors hooked to the primary (cord) side of your power supply. These run through 4 diodes that rectify AC to DC. These diodes have current limits and if you exceed that current limit often enough, by cold starting the power supply it is going to fail. There is a reason most switching power supplies are in the "always on" state... look at the various wall warts and laptop supplies... always on... this is why.

Second when you plug in a PC power supply there is a moment when there is power applied but the regulators have not stabalized. This could result in very brief pulses of too much voltage to some parts of your system... there is always power on in a PC, something has to monitor the power switch. (This by the way is why you should always plug a notebook supply into the wall several seconds before plugging it into the computer)

Third when pulling a plug out of the wall do you ever notice the fans will jog for a split second... maybe half a turn or so? This is because as power drains from the supply it goes undervoltage on your motherboard (those always on, parts) and can actually cause a false startup and immediate shutdown of your computer... which can very easily scramble your CMOS.

It's not common, in fact it's kinda rare... but if you unplug a computer often enough, you will have the problem at some point.

Thank you for explaining the issue to me it helped me to understand why its bad. Its good now no more messages. I think when i forced to power of the pc by pressing the power button on the case it somehow messed up. Well the computer had not closed it self properly as by closing via windows. Stupid me if i had know you could shutt down the pc by using a keyboard (windows button) it could have prevent me the issue i explained above with the mouse and forced shutt down. Well everytime you learn something new.
And offcourse no more unplugging the plug after shutdown.

I love this site realy helpfull people and above all people with knowledge.

I realy hope its good now (knocking on wood) Thanks again for the help guys.

 

[Rob Williams]

19W when pc is shut down.

Is that with the monitor included? I can't understand how any PC would draw so much power when it's turned off. If it does, there's a problem somewhere. Even our blinged-out PCs that we use for benchmarking only suck from the socket when turned off.

I can't add much more than what Tango did, since he has some good advice there. I wouldn't advise to unplugging your PC that often, either, just because it's a chore, and not truly needed. If the PC does indeed draw 19W at idle, it might pay to find out why, because simply put, it shouldn't.

 

[Kougar]

Is that with the monitor included? I can't understand how any PC would draw so much power when it's turned off. If it does, there's a problem somewhere. Even our blinged-out PCs that we use for benchmarking only suck from the socket when turned off.

I can't add much more than what Tango did, since he has some good advice there. I wouldn't advise to unplugging your PC that often, either, just because it's a chore, and not truly needed. If the PC does indeed draw 19W at idle, it might pay to find out why, because simply put, it shouldn't.

Actually, they do. This is typically seen on older (and the cheapest current) PSUs. PSU's without active-PFC and those PSU's that are not 80 Plus rated typically will pull 15-20W to keep the PSU circuits charged and ready to power back on.

If nothing else, it's a good reason to get a good quality PSU from a respected brand. A good quality PSU should only draw 0-3W when off.

 

[Cobra26]

I tested my power consumption including everything pc, screen, speakers.

pc off = 19watt power for speaker turned off while on its 30watt, 11wat just for the speakers damn....

second pc off = 45watt !!!

Or my device for checking your power consumption isnt accurate just to be sure il buy my self a new one, and check again.

 

[Rob Williams]

Actually, they do. This is typically seen on older (and the cheapest current) PSUs. PSU's without active-PFC and those PSU's that are not 80 Plus rated typically will pull 15-20W to keep the PSU circuits charged and ready to power back on.

Fine, got me again, Robert

 

[Kougar]

Hehe, sorry Rob!

I tested my power consumption including everything pc, screen, speakers.

pc off = 19watt power for speaker turned off while on its 30watt, 11wat just for the speakers damn....

second pc off = 45watt !!!

Or my device for checking your power consumption isnt accurate just to be sure il buy my self a new one, and check again.

Hmm, well I think that is normal for speakers (unfortunately), but that's not my area of knowledge so I can't say for sure. What are you using to measure with? Any multimeter or device that measures current by plugging the devices directly into it (such as a Kill-A-Watt) tend to be fairly accurate.

These days most household electronic devices never truly power off, they just enter a low-level sleep state. It's amazing how much power it all adds up to, especially with most of it drawing power 24/7....