First post, by markjw
following up to the drive issues (Windows 98SE on Shuttle SN41G2 - need help with drives) I was having with the SN41G2 I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on what has been going on with the CMOS settings on it.
Symptoms:
1. System would report floppy drive error and date/time lost on POST - going into the BIOS all CMOS settings would be at default values - put correct settings in and save, system boots OK
2. Leave machine connected to mains power and turn it off then back on a while later - CMOS settings still OK
3. Power off and unplug from mains - CMOS settings lost
Things tried (BIOS was already updated due to issues with correct drive size identification):
1. Replaced the CR2032 CMOS battery as given the age of the machine it was the obvious thing to do - no change in behaviour (used a new CR2032 and a known good one from a spare board)
2. Cleaned and checked the battery contacts were making good contact with the battery - still had same issue
3. Reseated the CMOS clear jumper and confirmed that it was bridging the correct pins (1&2) - still same issue
4. Stripped machine down to the basics - removed HDD, Radeon 9800Pro and Audigy 2ZS - still had the same issue
5. Removed motherboard from chassis just to ensure nothing had got underneath it that could cause a short (nothing was found)
6. Checked the condition of the electrolytic capacitors - all looked good, no bulging or leakage observed (machine only ever had minimal use)
When I reassembled the machine (again just the basics) I tested again and it held the CMOS settings for 15 minutes without issue with the mains disconnected - unplugged again and left it for 2 hours and still OK. Things I did different this time were:
1. When the machine was put back together the DDR memory module was put in the slot nearest the CPU rather than the 2nd slot
2. I put the clear CMOS jumper on pins 2&3 to force a reset for 10 seconds with mains disconnected.
3. After it reported errors on POST, went into the BIOS and chose 'Load Optimised Defaults' before putting in the settings I wanted.
Anyone seen this sort of behaviour before? Every other machine I've worked on (likely into thousands over the years from the original IBM PC-AT to fairly new machines) I've never seen the CMOS behave in such a fashion - everyone that has CMOS settings lost has been new battery then re-enter the settings and nothing else needed.
Next step will be to reinstall the Radeon and Audigy along with the HDD and see what happens.
thanks, Mark
Edit: nope, spoke too soon problem is back again - this machine is driving me mad!