Question Help with PC booting and CMOS issues

[rattyjunk]

Build
CASE: Jonsbo N5
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
RAM: 2x8gb ddr4 Corsair Vengeance
MOBO: ROG Strix B550 E Gaming
PSU: 750w Seasonic Prime TX Titanium
OS: Windows 11
OS Drive: WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME SSD
PCI Card: HP H220 (=LSI 9207-8i) 6Gbps SAS PCIe 3.0 HBA P20 IT Mode.
10x 3.5” Hard drives (Ranging from 14tb to 22tb)
2x SSD’s
12x 120mm Noctua case fans

I’ve seen this problem discussed in this very forum in various flavours but I just wanted to get some clarity for my specific issue and to get some sight in the CMOS..

I get the below America Megatrends screen and message when I boot my PC
It lists my connected devices HDD’s, SSD’s etc

At the bottom of the screen it says this

Please enter setup to recover BIOS setting.
When RAID configuration was built, ensure to set SATA Configuration to RAID mode.
Press F1 to Run SETUP

Firstly No raid was setup. The two SSD’s and two of the ten hard drives are connected to the motherboard Sata sockets the remaining 8 hard drives are connected to the HP H220 and hard drives by two Mini SAS 36P SFF-8087 to 4 Sata cables. All drives are individual drive no mirroring or anything like that

If I press F1 I can enter the bios and when I exit the PC boots as normal, no problems. I forget the exact course of the events but the error appeared a while back and I started noticing the time was slipping. I did a bit of research and concluded that I would need to change the CMOS battery. I removed the old battery and inserted the new one reasonable quickly. I didn’t reset the CMOS.

Upon booting, the PC still has the same message. I later removed the battery for several minutes and then reinstalled it. The same message still appears and F1 will boot the PC but any setting will not save if I shut down the PC and turn off at the wall. If I leave the power socket on the PC boots without the message I’ve discussed above. The time with the new battery installed now reverts to 00:00 and date is 1/1/2019 when power is not fed to the motherboard

The battery I’ve inserted was a brand new Duracell CR2032 with ages left until it expiry date.

I don’t have a multimeter so can’t check the board, so what do you guys think?

It did asked the telecoms engineer yesterday who came to fit my broadband what he thought and he wondered if it was lack of power to the mobo. I don’t think that the case because with a 750w PSU there is plenty of headroom considering what’s included in my build.

Anyway, your thoughts on what steps I should try going forward would be most appreciated.
Also, could I just ignore this problem and just continue to press F1 and then boot as normal or will a malfunctioning battery or dead battery cause damage over time to my overall system?

 

[Aeacus]

PSU: 750w Seasonic Prime TX Titanium

Welcome to the PRIME family! 👍

I'm also running two PRIME TX units but mine are 650W ones.

At the bottom of the screen it says this

Please enter setup to recover BIOS setting.
When RAID configuration was built, ensure to set SATA Configuration to RAID mode.
Press F1 to Run SETUP

Hmmm..... 🤔

What is the BIOS version on your MoBo? Is it the latest?
If not, you may need to update BIOS.

Also, could I just ignore this problem and just continue to press F1 and then boot as normal or will a malfunctioning battery or dead battery cause damage over time to my overall system?

Well, you could. CMOS battery is needed to keep the user made settings within the BIOS, and it also keeps the system clock on date, when PC doesn't have external power.

You can run PC without CMOS battery just fine. Downside is that on every power-on, BIOS settings are reverted to default and system clock also goes to factory default (but system should update it's time and date automatically from the net, once OS boots and connection to the internet is made).

It did asked the telecoms engineer yesterday who came to fit my broadband what he thought and he wondered if

It's like asking about hip pain from eye doctor. Just because both work in the same field (health care), doesn't mean another profession expert has the know-how in asked topic. Same here, network engineer doesn't have to know the inner workings of a desktop PC. PC hardware technician has completely another ballpark of knowledge.

E.g i've dealt with PC hardware issues for the past ~30 years, yet i have little knowledge of networks. Due to that, i even won't dabble in that and if anyone would be asking me something about it, i'd forward them to ask from the correct person.

 

[rattyjunk]

Thank you Aeacus for the reply, I’m tempted to buy a second hand x570 motherboard if I can’t fix it.

I don’t fully understand the secure boot and TMP
So if I swap out the motherboard I won’t be locked out of my hard drives. I’ve not got BitLocker enabled.

You are right about the engineer, I just thought he might have a idea about stuff 😀

But even with my limited knowledge I thought that what he was suggesting wasn’t right!

Well I know where to come for advice now then!

Thanks

Btw the motherboard is on the latest available bios

 

[Aeacus]

I’m tempted to buy a second hand x570 motherboard if I can’t fix it.

Well, you could try re-flashing the BIOS, but if BIOS update should fail (e.g power loss) your MoBo is bricked.

As of what you're seeing, would point towards BIOS thinking that you have RAID drives hooked to MoBo (e.g your SAS card) and now asks for you to select correct SATA detection mode. From ACHI to RAID. If you do that in BIOS, the "press F1" error would disappear but after POST, you may see RAID configuration screen now. Which you should be able to dismiss with Esc and continue booting to OS.

Some BIOSes also may have an option under Boot menu of: "Wait for F1 if error", which you can disable. Look if your BIOS has such option.

Then, there's also the obvious issue of low voltage or empty CMOS battery, which you already replaced. Though, it takes years (more like 10+ years) before CMOS battery gets empty.

Could also be that there's some fault with MoBo. This would be especially true when everything was alright but the issue started lately.

So if I swap out the motherboard I won’t be locked out of my hard drives. I’ve not got BitLocker enabled.

No. Without encryption and/or RAID, your drives are like regular data drives, that you can hook up onto any PC.

But new, clean Win install is must with new MoBo (new activation as well).

 

[rattyjunk]

Awesome , thank you for clarifying those few things for me.

I did update to the latest bios before I changed the battery. I still got the same message. I believe the SAS card that was plugged into the first PCI slot was running in achi with no problems before.

I tried another battery but no change.

I’ve got a used x570 motherboard arriving Tuesday so fingers crossed it’s ok.

 

[Aeacus]

I believe the SAS card that was plugged into the first PCI slot was running in achi with no problems before.

If you were to remove SAS card from the system, would you still get the error?

Since if not, then it narrows things down considerably.

 

[rattyjunk]

I’ll have a look later when I get some spare time, although with the bios settings and clock not saving, even after the battery change, my feeling is as you said, it could be a faulty mobo.

 

[rattyjunk]

I removed the card and nothing changed. Same message

 

[Aeacus]

I removed the card and nothing changed. Same message

Remove all drives, look if error remains.

Without any storage drives what-so-ever (including M.2), the PC should POST and boot directly to BIOS. Exiting BIOS would POST and boot back to BIOS.
But if you keep just the OS drive connected, look if issue is still present. Since if it is, it would be MoBo issue.