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From: donrm@hpnmdla.hp.com (Don Montgomery)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: EMERGENCY! Friend uses CMOS___, manages to clobber system
Message-ID: <11300005@hpnmdla.hp.com>
Date: 12 Apr 91 16:34:57 GMT
References: <1991Apr4.053701.3946@sactoh0.sac.ca.us>
Organization: HP Network Measurements Div, Santa Rosa, CA
Lines: 21

Tell your friend to download a program called CMOS_RAM from his favorite
BBS.  When run the first time, it stores your CMOS battery-backed up
data to floppy.  Then, if the CMOS battery craps out, or something blows 
up the CMOS backup data, you run the program and it automatically restores
what was in CMOS memory.

You first format a floppy disk with the /S option.  This puts the system on
the disk.  Then copy CMOS_RAM.EXE to this floppy.  Run the program from the
floppy and answer the menu questions.  Put the disk away with your hard disk
backups (you DO backup your hard disk, don't you?) Then if the computer loses
it's CMOS brains, you boot directly from the floppy by putting it in the
drive and turning on the power.  (Since the CMOS data is gone, the computer
can't find the hard disk and therefore can't boot so you have to do it from
the floppy.)

CMOS_RAM was written by Thomas Mosteller.  Last known address was 1872
Rampart Lane, Lansdale, PA 19466.  His shareware fee is $5.00, well worth
the hassle of looking up the HD parameters, etc to rebuild SETUP.

			    Don Montgomery
			    donrm@hpnmdla.HP.COM