Do I have a problem?

[snodvan]

Friends, I guess I do have a computer problem. I'm running a 3gig P4 laptop (Gericom) which according to the labels has 512 MBDDR ram, NVIDIA GeForce FX56000 (whatever that is) and lots of other goodies. You can tell I am not too well versed about the workings of these machines.

Machine has worked well for a year. Recently it has "frozen" a few times while doing jobs - some of them quite small jobs ie not 'power users'
The only way out is to switch off and then restart.

It did that yesterday but on startup the screen message was

CMOS Checksum bad
f2 for setup

Press f2 - do not understand but know enough not to 'muck about' with the settings in that place, so press escape to quit.

The machine then loads windows and seems to be ok although maybe a bit slow.

It has now given the same error at start up 5 times in succession - so I think it means it! I have run McAfee / Adware etc and all clear.

Any clues please. I still have a warranty on the machine and in the past Gericom service has been brilliant. However, it would be nice to have some opinions.

select default settings save and exit,if it happens again get someone to check your cmos battery,as far as the freeze need more info

[Scrubbs]

what operating system is it? xp ? xp pro? 2000?
do you run disk clean and when did you last defrag it?
it will give us a clue as to what is going on

[snodvan]

Thank you. Will do when I restart in half an hour or so. I have had battery probs on other machines so I should have thought of that one - although the machine is modern and only 1 year old so low battery is unlikely

The "freeze" problem starts with the mouse pointer just failing to respond, indeed the "light goes out" on the mouse ie it is an optical type which normally has a red glowing thing underneath. All keys fail to respond etc etc. The screen stays on but of course just at the page where it was when the failure happened. CTRL/ ALT / Del does nothing.
__________________

Running XP home. Never done defrag or disk clean

[punky]

Originally Posted by snodvan

CMOS Checksum bad
f2 for setup

That's a BIOS problem. Basically that is what handles your computer until your OS takes over. It stores the settings for your hardware.

I'd do what Zinglebarb said, go to "reset to defaults" in BIOS and if that doesn't work i'd take the battery out for a couple of mins (and unplug) and put it back in. But that's a bit risky in case you damage anything and you might have trouble finding it for a laptop.

If that doesn't you work, and you really want to try fixing this... You can try "re-flashing it", which is upgrading it, or replacing the BIOS with a clean copy, but that is risky in itself, but if you still want to go down that route, I dare say we can help you.

TBH though, i'd live with it for the agro it causes...

[snodvan]

Ta Punky (LOVE the avatar)

I'll do the easy bits but re-flashing is far too high tech for a geriatric like me. If it still gives problems I will get back to Gericom. I have to say that in the past their on-line service folks have been very helpful. The help line is an 0845 number but I often wonder if it patches through to Gericom HQ in Germany/ Austria because all their help folks sound just like someone from Allo Allo.

Listen very carefully I will say this only once


Good luck

[snodvan]

Restarted and received the same "CMOS checksum bad" message. Pressed f2 but then nosed around (carefully, not changing anything yet). On the EXIT page I found a line stating "load optimal defaults". Is that the one I should select and then accept on exit?

Yes, it is but it appears to me the cmos battery has gone, not your laptop battery but the one that hold the power to keep bios settings

[snodvan]

I had a motherboard battery "go" on another machine (dad's) and it caused all sorts of problems because it was not a fault that I was expecting. In that case the symptoms were different than those I have now - but then all machines have different ways of responding to circumstances. I will go and hunt the (pathetic) handbook that came with this machine just in case it gives any useful info like battery type (Guess CR3022) and how to get at it.

Thanks folks

cr2032 isnt it??? have no idea on laptops but atx etc are

[purenuman]

The most common cause of checksum errors in CMOS is a battery that is losing power. Viruses can also affect CMOS settings, and motherboard problems can also affect the stored values.

Recommendation:Follow the instructions in this section to address the CMOS corruption http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/mbs..._Corrupted.htm . You should make sure that all of the BIOS settings in the system are correct, by rebooting the system, going into BIOS setup and double-checking all the values (hopefully against a recent BIOS settings backup http://www.pcguide.com/care/bu/what_BIOS.htm ).

^^^^^
Said that twice

[snodvan]

Found the handbook. Not too bad really. Does at least tell me how to get the bottom cover off to see inside the "works" and what all the bits are inside. Also tells me

a. the battery is CR2032 as Zinglebarb indicated.
b. That checksum errors usually mean the battery needs replacing.
c. This is a fairly easy "user" operation

Tomorrow I will be dragged by the Mrs to climb some damnd hill in Wales so it looks like Monday before I can sort this one out

I seem to remember an old expression "when all else fails RTFM".

[snodvan]

Thank you Gentlemen. All sorted

During my business like I learned (the hard way) that it is always best to "separate the variables" ie when doing/ fixing something do it in steps so you know the rogue step if all goes wrong. Therefore :

I first restored the CMOS to the original settings as per instructions provided. Actually, that seemed to do the trick ie on reboot I did not then get the "checksum bad" message.

However, for the cost of a battery (2 x CR 2032 = £4.99 from my WH Smiths but buy one get one free so effectively £1.25 each which seems pretty good) I decided to pop the old battery out and change it. Bit fiddly but done OK.

Machine now seems fine.

Interestingly the old CR2032 still measured just over 3v on a tester - but gave only 30ma on a (very quick) current check compared with couple of amps for a new battery.

Thanks again