Just spent a full day on a dead PC that only needed a BIOS reset

Had a client's gaming rig that wouldn't post, no lights, nothing. I swapped the PSU, tested the RAM, even pulled the CPU. After about 7 hours, my buddy on the phone said 'did you clear the CMOS?' I felt so dumb. Pulled the battery for 30 seconds and it booted right up. Anyone else get totally tunnel vision on the complicated stuff and miss the simple fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

bethj442mo ago

Wait, you spent 7 hours on that? That's brutal, I would have lost my mind. I always forget about the jumper pins too, I just yank the battery like it's 2005. What kind of board was it that needed the extra steps?

rosed322mo ago

Oh man, that's the worst feeling. But just a heads up, pulling the battery for 30 seconds doesn't always work on newer boards. Sometimes you really need to use the jumper pins or hold the power button down while it's unplugged to drain all the charge. I've been burned by that before thinking I cleared it when I didn't.

angela_carter2mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that "hold the power button" trick saved me last time too. I sat there like a fool for twenty minutes before I tried it.