Problem with motherboard battery on new build.

dominoman

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI - B350M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design - Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX - XT 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG - GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link - TL-WN781ND PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter

I completed my new build the other day using the components above. To my relief it booted first time and after setting the BIOS I was able to install windows and work away.

Everything looked fine till the next day I powered up to be greeted with the message.

"Devices changed (CPU or Memory) or CMOS has been cleared. Please enter setup to configure your setup. Ect…"

Uh-oh I think something not right so I mess with the ram only booting with 1 stick etc. Same problem. Updated the BIOS to latest version same problem, try without one disks then both and always greeted with the same screen on a cold boot.

Eventually after two days of frustration I pulled the CMOS battery and tested it with a multimeter. It registers 0.04v. Wait WHAT this is a brand new sealed motherboard with a new battery!! Anyway after replacing with a new battery from Dealz which showed 3.30v on the multimeter. I power on and set the bios again. Thankfully now after a couple of cold boots it now boots fine. I can only recall ever having to replace a battery once on a 7 year old PC. Anyway I wonder how many of these motherboards will be RMA'd if a batch of faulty batteries were installed in them. Anybody else ever come across a dead CMOS battery on a new motherboard?

K.O.Kiki

You probably found the 1-in-a-million bad CMOS batteries.

ED E

Cell chemistry isnt always perfect. Even among Teslas new killer own design units have duds. CRxx are the cheapest going so its no huge shocker, just unlucky for you.