massive problem in BIOS

[EirePlane]

I'm having a problem on a computer at home and don't know how to resolve it.
While making some changes in my BIOS I changed my VGA Memory to Disabled by accident, Now my screen will not display and i can't do anything.

I was thinking of putting my hard drive in another computer to rescue my documents as I have some important information which is not backed up.
Is it safe to do this or will it erase the hard drive?

Also, Is there a way of resetting the BIOS without erasing the Hard Drive?
I was thinking of removing the CMOS battery to revert it as this seems to happen with another computer I own when the CMOS battery runs out.
Would This be possible?

Thank you
Mitchel Moriarty

[Weather_Man]

Yes, you can reset the BIOS to defaults by either setting jumpers on the motherboard to clear CMOS, or removing the battery for several minutes (be sure to unplug the PC first).

[EirePlane]

thanks for the help but I have just fixed it anyway.

Just for reference, no, taking out the CMOS battery will not erase your hard drive if you unplug it from the motherboard first

[RollerBall]

Taking out the CMOS battery won't erase your hard drive anyway.

There's no need to remove the CMOS battery for any reason unless it is very old and is losing power. You can tell because the PCs clock begins to slow down eg you set the time today and in a week its 15 minutes behind.

If you make a cockup in a BIOS setting you will find that there is always a jumper labelled CLEAR CMOS that sits on 2 of a group of 3 pins.

First, switch off the PC then REMOVE THE POWER LEAD. It is essential for the mobo NOT to be receiving any power except from the CMOS battery when you clear CMOS.

Do it by removing the jumper and replacing it so it shorts between the middle and the other pin in the group of 3. Leave it for a few seconds then replace it, reconnect the power and boot up the machine.

All of the CMOS settings will have reverted to default - you can tell because in the Standard BIOS settings the year, month, day and time will all have reverted to something like January 1st 2001 00:00 hrs.

All you have to do then is recreate all of the settings to make the machine work properly.

Simple..

[JBaymore]

All you have to do then is recreate all of the settings to make the machine work properly.

Simple..

Easy for you to say!  

best,

................john

[RollerBall]

[quote]

Easy for you to say!

[EirePlane]

didn't see any jumpers in there but it seems easier to take out the battery and pop it back in again anyway
thanks though

[Fozzer]

Easy for you to say!  

best,

................john

Tee-Hee... ...!

...anything to do with Motherboards, BIOS, and Batteries fills me with fear... ... ...!
LOL...!

Paul.... ...!

[congo]

Fear comes from the unknown, I know perfectly well I can bugger it up, so I'm not scared.

[the_autopilot]

thanks for the help but I have just fixed it anyway.

Just for reference, no, taking out the CMOS battery will not erase your hard drive if you unplug it from the motherboard first

Like stated above, removing the cmos battery does not screw your HD. However, what might have happened is when you opened your computer, you touched the HD and fried it (or part of it) with a static charge. This is extremely unlikely, but it has happened before.