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My motherboard has several issues. Note: I have already replaced the coin-sized circular mobo battery, and it did not fix any of the issues below.

  • Sometimes when I boot, the BIOS forgets my settings.
    • Sometimes it only forgets the time.
    • Sometimes it only forgets the Floppy setting. (The default is to look for a floppy drive, and if it does not exist, it fails, making me press F1 in order to continue the boot process.)
      • I've NEVER had a floppy, and I repeatedly change the BIOS to not look for a floppy.
    • Sometimes it forgets both time and the floppy setting.
    • Maybe it forgets my other settings, too, but I just don't realize it. (not sure, there aren't any other settings I care about)
  • Sometimes when I turn the computer on (either after sleeping, hibernate, or full shutdown, it does not matter), it won't boot at all. The symptoms are:
    • Nothing at all shows on the screen.
    • The GPU fan stays at full blast.
    • Boot process gets stuck where it won't boot until I press reset.
    • After pressing the reset button, it loads normally (if it was previously put to sleep, then it comes out of sleep normally, or if it was previously hibernated, then it comes out of hibernate normally.)
  • These issues didn't just start (I didn't add new hardware). They have been getting worse over time. (It forgets the time more often.)

There are no other problems, the OS boots fine and works normally thereafter.

I found out that there are replacement BIOS chips for my mobo on ebay. They aren't expensive ($15), so maybe that will help? I don't even know if replacing a BIOS chip is possible with just household tools.

Before I buy the BIOS chip, I want to see if anyone knows if there is anything here that makes it sound like it's definitely a mobo problem, and not just a BIOS problem. And also, is it possible to replace the BIOS chip with household tools.

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188009

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  • I see someone gave this question a -1. Is it considered wrong to ask diagnosis questions like this?
    – Eddified
    Mar 16, 2013 at 23:09
  • No, but I +1 for the effort you have shown in trying to troubleshoot. The big problem is, if you have to replace the board, you have limited option for what will support your CPU and memory type.
    – Carl B
    Mar 16, 2013 at 23:14
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    Have you checked the PSU for voltage fluctuations? or some loose molex connectors?
    – user181734
    Mar 16, 2013 at 23:25
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    Some bios chips are designed to be replaceable. They reside in a little socket. You can do it with a screwdriver if it's something like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenix_bios.jpg Mar 17, 2013 at 0:10
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    Sometime BIOS can get corrupt. Have you tried flashing the BIOS to replace the existing instructions? This would be my first step before I spend any money.
    – CharlieRB
    Mar 17, 2013 at 1:13

2 Answers 2

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Sometime BIOS can get corrupt. Try flashing the BIOS to replace the existing instructions. This would be my first step before I spend any money.

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  • Ha, so, flashing the BIOS actually helped noticeably, but the issue came back after awhile. -sigh-
    – Eddified
    Mar 20, 2013 at 4:42
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interestingly, there is a suggestion from EVGA support about BIOS changing/reseting on the 680i Motherboard.

Question / Issue My BIOS settings on my 680i motherboards are being changed/reset on some boots/restarts.

http://www.evga.com/support/knowledgebase/

Answer/Reply In most cases people who have experienced this problem were using the nTune software that came on the 680i driver installation CD. It is recommended to uninstall this version of nTune via Add/Remove Programs in the control panel. If you plan to use nTune please download the latest version from this link:

(The link seems to send you to a "pick your product" page and I have found no nTune.)

It may be best, especialy if you do not use nTune, to unistall it. Reboot and see if BIOS is stable.

Edit: Reflashing the BIOS may address any coruption to BIOS.

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  • What worked was re-flashing the BIOS. Since re-flashing, I've come out of sleep ~8 times and out of hibernate once with no issues (very unusual!) I marked this as the answer because it's the only answer.
    – Eddified
    Mar 17, 2013 at 3:45
  • I installed nTune a few years ago. I suppose it's possible that nTune messed up the BIOS somehow. But no, nTune has not been installed for a few years now (I've had this mobo since 2007).
    – Eddified
    Mar 17, 2013 at 3:52
  • I will add reflas so that the answer is complete.
    – Carl B
    Mar 17, 2013 at 3:56

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