[SOLVED] PC only boots without CMOS battery, but won't load BIOS

[Sakijura]

Hopefully someone knows what the issue could be.
Background info: system is 7 years old and has been running smoothly all this time. Last week I formatted the SSD and installed Windows 10. I installed new drivers and software for the bios system. All seemed welll. Last night the pc crashed and got stuck in hibernation mode. Pc couldn't be turned on or off with the power button, had to cut the power.

Issues:

• PC won't boot if CMOS battery is installed
• PC will boot if CMOS battery is left out
• PC can't be turned on and off with the power button, I must turn off the power supply to shut down the computer
• PC won't load the BIOS
• System won't detect any external hardware such as keyboards or mouses, though the LED turns on (indicating power)
• No display on the monitor whatsoever, neither with the GPU nor the integrated card on the CPU
• PC won't execute disks or bootable hard drives (i.e. installation disks / knoppix)

i have tried:

• resetting CMOS, taking out the battery and jumper, press power button for a while, enter battery and jumper after > 5 mins.
• Replacing the battery with a brand new CR2032 Lithium battery
• taking out all components and troubleshooting one by one. The system does the same thing even with just the CPU, PSU, and Motherboard. (No RAM). Power supply definitely works, all the fans are spinning and LEDs indicating power are on.

My thoughts:

• Motherboard is bricked
• Possibly the CPU is dead
• Corrupted motherboard drivers/software

Any extra help or input would be highly appreciated!

specs:
Mobo = MSI FM2 socket A75MA- E35
CPU = AMD A10-6800K
RAM = Crucial 8 GB DDR 5
GPU = Radeon HD RX560 series

 

[geofelt]

The purpose of the cr2032 battery is to preserve bios settings across full power failures.
Normally, if the psu is plugged in, there is sufficient trickle power to keep the bios settinngs without draining the battery.
That is why they seem to last so long.

Without the battery, you will get the default settings.
I have no clue why this should work.

My guess would be a faulty power supply.
What is the make/model of your psu?
7 years is a long time for a cheap unit.

Can you test with a known good psu?

Considering that your motherboard and processor are all but obsolete, I would not spend money on anything that can not be carried forward to a replacement build.

 

[Sakijura]

The purpose of the cr2032 battery is to preserve bios settings across full power failures.
Normally, if the psu is plugged in, there is sufficient trickle power to keep the bios settinngs without draining the battery.
That is why they seem to last so long.

Without the battery, you will get the default settings.
I have no clue why this should work.

My guess would be a faulty power supply.
What is the make/model of your psu?
7 years is a long time for a cheap unit.

Can you test with a known good psu?

Considering that your motherboard and processor are all but obsolete, I would not spend money on anything that can not be carried forward to a replacement build.

Hi, thank you for you reply
The PSU is Corsair CX600M

it seems that anything that is connected to the PSU directly with PCI cables is running. Anything that is connected to the Motherboard is either defect or only partially working.

It might be the 24 pin connnector that isn't working as it should. I'll try with alternative pins and update the thread

 

[Sakijura]

To get back to this thread, I have replaced the motherboard and the system is fully functional again!
The old (current) power supply is still going strong, no issues there!

I strongly suspect a fault with the Motherboard drivers preventing the BIOS to load.