Mobo that doesn't keep BIOS settings

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Dudes, I've got a mobo that drives me nuts. Asus P5Q-E. Doesn't ever keep BIOS settings despite:

- power sufficient (OCZ ZS 650W)
- BIOS upgraded (no errors)
- battery replaced (3 times)
- BIOS chips (it has two) sitting correctly (I did have to correct one of them but this didn't help)

It used to forget the settings every now and then, especially when turning off or plugging off the PSU. I needed to press F2 during many, many startups, though not after rebooting. Now I need to press it every single boot. The only thing it remembers is date. Forget overclocking or even changing boot sequence. Windows reinstall would probably be impossible.

Do I give up and call the pros or is there anything I can do from home?

[mbc]

Check Jumper settings

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Check Jumper settings

Sorry, forgot to mention that. Already checked them and it wasn't it.

[nar]

Sounds like the problem is gradually getting worse. Probably some kind of actual defect if that is so.
Have you tried contacting ASUS yet?

[thp777]

maybe the bios chips are going bad. new ones are usually like $10.

[IvanIvanovich]

^ this. Tried swapping the bios roms? I had an ECS a long time ago that did this. I moved the secondary one to primary socket and was able to use it that way (particular board wouldn't boot without both) with the bad one in secondary until a replacement arrived.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

I would change the chips except I'm not sure they're meant to be removed manually. Tried prying them out with a screwdriver without excessive force and it didn't work. Can't seem to be able to find the answer in Google.

[IvanIvanovich]

Socket mount, you need an IC puller.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Socket mount, you need an IC puller.

Can I safely fake it with a pincer or tweezers?

[Rajagra]

Maybe it's failing to boot, forcing it to reset the BIOS. Could be a memory error. Try reseating memory / running with different numbers of memory boards fitted to try and isolate any problem.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Maybe it's failing to boot, forcing it to reset the BIOS. Could be a memory error. Try reseating memory / running with different numbers of memory boards fitted to try and isolate any problem.

Thought about that too, as in a default BIOS setting that goes wrong but might as well be memory as you say. Thanks. I'll be looking into it right now.

Nice avatar BTW.

Edit: Doesn't seem to be RAM. Pushing RAM voltage up a bit didn't help either. I'm wondering if it can't be one of the Auto settings in AI Tweak, like poor voltage for something.

[Wildcard]

Take an extra look at the jumper settings, in fact depending on the board you can probably remove the jumper all together. Usually on the 3 pins (2 short over the battery, the other 1 does nothing but hold the jumper in place with the center pin).

If you have a PSU tester, make sure all the voltages are good. If that passes, disconnect all cables/ram from the board and then re-connect/reseat. It this doesn't work, try taking the motherboard out of the case and see how it runs then. Note: If this solves the problem there could be a shorting issue with your mobo in your case.

If that still doesn't work, you could go the replacement Bios chip route (but with two in there I'm wondering if you could just remove one and try swapping between the primary and secondary bios chips. (be very careful when removing bios chips, they can be in there pretty tight and if you pull at the wrong angle too hard you can break the socket.

Good luck

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Thanks. PSU should be good, it's new after all (I know this isn't a 100% guarantee but still). Tried booting outside the case (another thing I had forgotten to mention in the opening post)—didn't notice any difference (I suspect some kind of shorts on the mobo). I guess I'll need to tackle the BIOS chips, though I really worry about breaking the sockets.