Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quickly..

As title above.

I have set a password on my BIOS, but if I quickly shutdown and restart 3 times, the password is lost and basically there password is removed.

Any solution?

 

Don't quickly shutdown

Seriously tho....can you re-produce that each and every time or is it possibly a coincidence and your battery is going bad

 

Upgrading to the latest bios if you haven't done so already might fix it but to my knowledge there is no workaround. This happens sometimes with some bios'. Very unfortunate.

EDIT: Also it is possible like Bubba said that your battery may be dying but the above is still true as well.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

I can replicate this everytime, it is definitely not my BIOS battery as the computer is still relatively new.

When the password is "resetted" (after I turn and off quickly three times) it shows the message "CMOS Defaults loaded"

Also there is no need to upgrade the BIOS as it is dated 2005...

Heres what I found at
http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/awardbios.htm

CMOS checksum error - Defaults loaded
Checksum of CMOS is incorrect, so the system loads the default values. A checksum error may indicate that CMOS has become corrupt. This error might have been caused by a weak battery

Any ideas?

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

No disrespect intended but after almost 30 years experience as an Electronic Technician I can assure you I do not assume anything when it comes to elctronics. Even if by chance it is not the battery my point is do not assume electronics can not go bad even tho it is relatively new. If it is a desktop it would not take someone qualified to eliminate the battery from the equation.

As Chris alluded to....it might be a problem with the Award BIOS and even tho it is "dated 2005"....once again I would not assume because of age that the BIOS could not be bad\corrupted.

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

Hmm maybe you are right. Wait you are right...
But it still does not solve me problem

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

Hey Squash,

You could try what was already suggested.
1. Try different versions of the BIOS.
Back up your BIOS first. The latest and beta BIOS sometimes fix problems, but don't count out the older versions. I had more than one occasion where older versions worked better.

2. Buy a new battery. You may have gotten a weak new battery. Manufacturers will cut costs wherever they can. Even if it doesn't work, you will have removed the battery as the culprit.

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

1. Is too risky, and probably not the cause.
2. This is probably the culprit, thanks alot Devinco, I still remember you from that "Am I Secure enough" thread from about 1 year ago

 

Re: Password protecting AWARD BIOS... it works, but resets if I restart 3 times quick

Cheers squash,

I hope you are secure enough.
I'm glad you are using the BIOS password. It is a simple free way to boost your security. Thanks for sharing the problem. I wouldn't have thought to try it if you didn't bring it up. I'll try it out sometime and post here if it happens to me.
If others want to test it, make sure you back up all your BIOS settings first either on paper or with some form of BIOS backup that stores custom settings.