Nonvolatile BIOS memory refers to a small memory on PC motherboards that is used to store BIOS settings. It was traditionally called CMOS RAM because it used a volatile, low-power complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) SRAM (such as theMotorola MC146818 or similar) powered by a small battery when system power was off (called the CMOS battery).
The term remains in wide use but it has grown into a misnomer: nonvolatile storage in contemporary computers is often in EEPROM or flash memory (like the BIOS code itself); the remaining usage for the battery is then to keep the real-time clock (RTC) going. The typical NVRAM capacity is 512 bytes, which is generally sufficient for all BIOS settings. The CMOS RAM and the real-time clock have been integrated as a part of thesouthbridge chipset and it may not be a standalone chip on modern motherboards.
CMOS battery
The memory battery (aka motherboard, CMOS, real-time clock-RTC, clock battery)[3][4] is generally a CR2032 lithium coin cell. These cells last two to ten years, depending on the type of motherboard, ambient temperature and the length of time that the system is powered off, while other common cell types can last significantly longer or shorter periods, such as the CR2016which will generally last about 40% less than CR2032. Higher temperatures and longer power-off time will shorten cell life. When replacing the cell, the system time and CMOS BIOS settings may revert to default values. This may be avoided by replacing the cell with the power supply master switch on. On ATX motherboards, this will supply 5V power to the motherboard even if it is apparently "switched off", and keep the CMOS memory energized. In general one should not work on a computer that is powered.
Some computer designs have used non-button cell batteries, such as the cylindrical "1/2 AA" used in the Power Mac G4 as well as some older IBM PC compatibles, or a 3-cell NiCd CMOS battery that looks like a "barrel" (common in Amigas and older IBM PC compatibles), which serves the same purpose.
With (non-accesible close) computers you may need to disconnect cables, remove drives, or remove other parts of the computer to get full access to the CMOS battery.[5]
First-4-screws replacement
First-4-screws CMOS battery replacement means that you only need open the first laptop 4 screw to replace the CMOS battery. Usually the keyboard does not need to be moved.
Extension cord[
A cable terminated with a 2 pin Molex connector plug can be used as an electrical extension cord, for an easy access to replace CMOS battery (to put the battery in the more easily accesible place).[6]
Rechargeable CMOS battery or capacitors[edit]
Asus Eee PC series Models 1005ha 1005hab 1008ha and others use Varta ML1220 or equivalent Maxell, Sanyo andPanasonic ML1220 Lithium Ion coin cell rechargeable batteries, terminated with a 2 pin Molex connector plug.[7]
Capacitors
Rather than using a battery, heavy duty capacitors can be used as an alternative. They would be connected where the original NiCd / NiMH battery goes.[8][9]
Resetting the CMOS settings
To access the BIOS setup when the machine fails to operate, occasionally a drastic move is required. In older computers with battery-backed RAM, removal of the battery and short circuiting the battery input terminals for a while did the job; in some more modern machines this move only resets the RTC. Some motherboards offer a CMOS-reset jumper or a reset button. In yet other cases, the EEPROM chip has to be desoldered and the data in it manually edited using a programmer. Sometimes it is enough to ground the CLK or DTA line of the I²C bus of the EEPROM at the right moment during boot, this requires some precise soldering on SMD parts. If the machine lets one boot but does not want to let the user into the BIOS setup, one possible recovery is to deliberately "damage" the CMOS checksum by doing direct port writes using DOSdebug.exe, corrupting some bytes of the checksum-protected area of the CMOS RAM; at the next boot, the computer typically resets its setting to factory defaults.
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