How to reset your CMOS

[Durinthiam]

because not everyone has a uGuru Panel


1. On the motherboard there is a small watch battery. Remove this battery along with the main ATX cable from the power supply. Hold down the power button to fully discharge the system. Wait 2-3 minutes then reinstall the battery and plug in your system. Your reset is now complete

This is generally to help those who are having POST problems, dont just do it for the hell of it and MAKE SURE YOUR PC IS OFF!

 

[Bryce W]

Ive actually found that 2-3 minutes is not enough for discharge the mobo. I was once removing a bios password off a PC and I had heard about this method (at the time it was the first time Ive ever done it).

The power cord was unplugged and I took the battery out for about 3 minutes, put it back in and the bios password was still there. I did the same again for about 10 minutes, still there. I then left it out for about half an hour and then it finally reset the bios. Perhaps the fact it was an older PC it held charge better or maybe just the model. But in this case 2-3 minutes, definantly wasnt enough.

I have never tried doing it on newer PC's so they probably discharge quicker.

 

[Stealth]

A much easier solution is to just RTFM and short the neccessary jumper on the board for 5 or 10 seconds.

 

[Durinthiam]

not all boards have jumpers for reset

 

[Bryce W]

And every few clients actually keep the manuals.

 

[bigbrother]

In addition to the above instruction, here is another way on how to reset your bios (cmos):

Since some motherboards have a 3 pin jumper by the battery. Lets say that the jumper is on pins 2 and 3. Remove the jumper while the machine is OFF and place onto pins 1 and 2. Power on your machine for a minute. (Note: Your system will not POST). Shutdown your machine and put the jumper back to pins 2 and 3. Your reset is now complete

This is a great troubleshooting step for those who have few knowledge about computer hardware problems.

 

[Bryce W]

Bigbrother, actually, we have an article on resetting your bios. Good tip though.
http://www.technibble.com/how-to-recover-from-a-bad-bios-update/