Random question about motherboard.

[taker36904]

I see a lot of post when people are asking about updates to motherboard,graphics card,memory.etc.A lot of people tell them to clear your motherboards cmos to get a fresh start..What does that mean.


Thanks in advance.

[redwudz]

It's one way of resetting your BIOS to the default settings. Not really necessary, though, unless you are having problems with the BIOS. Actually, updating your BIOS will reset everything also.

You reset BIOS on most motherboards by using a shorting jumper that is already on the MB. You just move it to the 'clear' position for a few minutes and it resets it all. You can also do this by removing the BIOS battery for a few minutes. You do both of these operations with the computer unplugged.

Of course, the downside is you will lose all your settings, so you want to record them first. Usually you only reset BIOS when you have messed up the BIOS settings so much the MB won't boot.