[S.O.A.D.A.]

Hi,

There are two pins on the mobo for resetting the BIOS.
I guess what I would need to do is put a jumper on them, start the machine, turn it off, remove the jumper, start the machine again, enter BIOS, set time, date and the rest, and proceed according to your instructions, yes? And shorting those pins is a surer way of resetting CMOS settings than replacing the battery?

But if the problem persists, would it not finally prove the mobo as the culprit?
Why are you so sure it's the HD?

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Different MBs have different ways of resetting the BIOS, if you post
the MB details I can find the correct way for yours.
By checking the HDD exhaustively it is ensuring you do not spend
out cash unnecessarily, if it does turn out to be the board at least
you know you will have a known good HDD to use with a new MB.
Also have you tried a different power connector off your psu?
What OS are you going to be using if not Windows 7, if it is XP you
may want a look at this http://www.digitgeek...ers-into-xp-cd/

[phillpower2]

Different MBs have different ways of resetting the BIOS, if you post
the MB details I can find the correct way for yours.
By checking the HDD exhaustively it is ensuring you do not spend
out cash unnecessarily, if it does turn out to be the board at least
you know you will have a known good HDD to use with a new MB.
Also have you tried a different power connector off your psu?
What OS are you going to be using if not Windows 7, if it is XP you
may want a look at this http://www.digitgeek...ers-into-xp-cd/

[S.O.A.D.A.]

I've actually tried it with a different PSU.
The mobo is a Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H with a CLR_CMOS jumper on it.
I have already replaced its battery, so that might have (should have, according to the books) reset the CMOS.
The mobo is still under warranty (bought just at the beginning of this year).
The important question is: should I be able to enter BIOS even if the computer has no HDD attached to the mobo?
As I've already said, I have observed the exact same behavior with & without the HD plugged in.

[123Runner]

Removing and replacing the battery would also clear the cmos.
You should be able to enter bios with or without the hard drive.
BIOS is before the computer boots. As you know (I am sure), it is telling the unit what to boot (in easy terms).

[S.O.A.D.A.]

That's what I thought.
It's under warranty, I'll just take it back to the store on Monday, let them test it if they feel like doing it.

Thanks for all the help, ppl,
I'll post back here with the proper ending of this saga.
SOADA

[123Runner]

I re-read some of the posts and with all the tests done it is looking like the main board.
With no hard drive connected you would get something to the effect of "no drive" or "missing OS" provided all else was working correctly.
With no drives or cd's you should still be able to get to bios.

Please let us know the outcome.

[phillpower2]

As 123Runner posted you do not need the HDD to get into BIOS
it is in a chip on the mainboard, if the HDD is not showing in
the BIOS it is not being detected, is it set to autodetect in
the BIOS?
Glad to hear the board is still under warranty.

NB: For future reference;
Apart from removing the CR2032 battery (for how long varies)
this is the method from your MB manual to clear the CMOS, note
you do not start the computer with the jumper cap in place,
• Always turn off your computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before
clearing the CMOS values.
• After clearing the CMOS values and before turning on your computer, be sure to remove
the jumper cap from the jumper. Failure to do so may cause damage to the motherboard.
• After system restart, go to BIOS Setup to load factory defaults (select Load Optimized
Defaults) or manually configure the BIOS settings (refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS Setup," for
BIOS configurations).

Edited by phillpower2, 24 July 2010 - 08:45 AM.

[S.O.A.D.A.]

phillpower2 - Very useful info about using that jumper.

I cannot get into CMOS setup, 9 times out of 10. No response from anything, only way to reboot is a cold reset.

I'll let you know the outcome (prolly in 2 days)