The CMOS chip stores critical system information such as the date, time, and hardware configuration. It is essential for maintaining the BIOS settings that control how your computer interacts with its ...

PC owners aren't strangers to the usual hardware debacle. If you’ve been using a PC for more than a year, chances are you have probably encountered some common hardware hiccups. Whether it’s an ...

One of the main culprits behind BIOS issues is the CMOS battery. The battery powers the CMOS memory, which stores BIOS settings. If the battery is drained, the CMOS will not remember the settings, and ...

You can reset your PC's BIOS settings to their factory defaults by selecting the Restore Defaults option within BIOS or by removing the CMOS battery from an unplugged computer for about five minutes.

Frustratingly common for PC users, boot problems can stem from a variety of software and hardware glitches. A particularly frequent issue is when a Windows computer ...

A neighbor asked me to wipe their PC hard drive so they could give the PC to a friend.<BR><BR>I took my XP disc over, since they didn't have one, and tried to boot from the CDROM. Wouldn't do it. So I ...

Another is by reinitializing the BIOS. Certain motherboards allow you to reset the BIOS settings directly with a switch. If not, simply removing the battery will cause a power loss to the motherboard, ...

If you've locked yourself out of your Compaq Presario by an unknown CMOS password, you can reset the password -- along with all other CMOS settings -- by removing the computer's backup battery for ...

In this week’s installment of Tech 911, a reader writes in to find some clarity, not solve an issue with a broken device or failing hardware. Said reader was probably poking around his motherboard a ...