Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-sdd!megatek!eta!hollen
From: hollen@eta.megatek.uucp (Dion Hollenbeck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Looking for lost CMOS Ram article
Message-ID: <576@megatek.UUCP>
Date: 12 Jun 89 14:55:05 GMT
References: <562@bnr-fos.UUCP>
Sender: news@megatek.UUCP
Distribution: na
Lines: 36

From article <562@bnr-fos.UUCP>, by mlord@bnr-public.uucp (Mark Lord):
> In article <1724@ozvax.WV.TEK.COM> wesw@ozvax.WV.TEK.COM (Wes Whitnah) writes:
>>
>>   My AT-compatible is loosing its CMOS ram quite regularly now
>>   (after EVERY power-up) and new batteries have not helped.
> 
> Funny thing.  My AT clone has exactly the same problem.  I have even replaced
> the (socketed) Real Time clock chip but to no avail.  Next on the list is to 
> replace the CMOS ram chip if I can figure out which one it is.  If anyone else
> has any ideas, I'd sure love to hear them.  My email address is given below.
> 


I had this problem, only more intermittently.  I had upgraded my XT to
an AT by replacing the motherboard with a 'baby' size AT motherboard.
I kept the original XT power supply.  About one time in ten, the CMOS
would be trashed when I did a power-on.  I found out that this was
because the XT power supply was spiking the CMOS when turned on.  I
replaced the power supply with a 'baby' AT supply (200 watt AT in an
XT size case) and have not had any problems since.

There is a set of programs which I have heard about out there in
Netland which capture the contents of CMOS to a file and write the
contents of the file back to CMOS.  I have asked for anyone to post
these before and I ask again, please post!!  These programs could help
by automatically writing the CMOS from a file which has the correct
data each time a boot is done and then re-booting.  This will only
help, of course, it this problem is intermittent, or only occurs
at power-up.  If it happens every time, power-up or ALT-CTL-DEL, then
I don't see much hope of help from these programs.

	Dion Hollenbeck             (619) 455-5590 x2814
	Megatek Corporation, 9645 Scranton Road, San Diego, CA  92121

                                seismo!s3sun!megatek!hollen
                                ames!scubed/