questions on CMOS and BIOS

[liquidblue69mce]

On most mobo there are jumper pins for CMOS and BIOS settings...why have the option to clear the CMOS and what does this result in and/or effect?

What does BIOS protect option protect the mobo away from? why have it set to one and not the other (non and protect)?

What happens when you pull the battery from the mobo?

Are any of these steps use for trouble shooting? Can a virus or anything foreign from your programs/PC effect the CMOS or BIOS?


-Hector

[bailey]

bios is basic input output system which is software that is stored on a cmos chip.
bios has a basic factory setting and can be changed with many options to change some settings.
clear the cmos mearly sets it back to the factory basic settings.
removing the battery will do the same as resetting the cmos.
bios is upgradeable to newer versions as updates are available to correct problems that come up.
it is not recommend to flash the bios unless it address a particular problem you have and the new version will correct this problem.
a bad bios flash can render your motherboard useless

[pam123]

Originally Posted by liquidblue69mce On most mobo there are jumper pins for CMOS and BIOS settings...why have the option to clear the CMOS and what does this result in and/or effect? What does BIOS protect option protect the mobo away from? why have it set to one and not the other (non and protect)? What happens when you pull the battery from the mobo? Are any of these steps use for trouble shooting? Can a virus or anything foreign from your programs/PC effect the CMOS or BIOS? -Hector

1. The clear CMOS will return your bios to factory standards and ensure that the computer will boot if you err in setting up the bios( a ususal first step) or get a little too enthusiastic with your overclock.
Look on it as a necessary fail safe.
2. Pulling the battery, that enables the bios to keep it's settings, will also have the same effect and some motherboards require that you do both, change the jumper and pull the battery.
3. Yes there are viruses (virii?) that will flash your bios and render your motherboard unusable ( Their hay day was a few years ago but they're still out there.). They're not the menace they were but that little safeguard is still a good idea, just remember to disable it before you try to flash your bios or install or repair your operating system.