©ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Retired · ‎10-20-2011

Hey guys, here's the deal. For whatever reason, my R3BE refuses to retain any CMOS settings. The minute it gets pulled out of the wall socket (and the PSU's caps send the remaining current) for more than 10-15 seconds, upon boot it asks for CMOS Time/Date and all BIOS settings are lost.

I have already tried:

a. Removing the battery and replacing it with a new one (two new ones to be precise).
b. Removing the motherboard and checking it outside the case on a paper box to exclude the possibility of anything short-circuiting.
c. Replaced ALL hardware with different. All combinations. No exceptions.
d. Double and triple-checked all the jumpers.
e. Update and downgrade both BIOS chips. All available BIOSes have been tested and Load Defaults has been done meticulously.

I believe there is a short-circuit in the battery's path to the BIOS chips.
I am not eligible for an RMA since i have lost the purchase receipt and the dealer here requires it.

Please help, i spent a lot of money on this awesome piece of hardware, the mother of all Rampages and i cannot enjoy it. My sole hope is upon you, fellow ROG'ers...

Raja · ‎10-20-2011

Might be worth listing all parts and configuration details (overclocked or not etc). Sounds like the board is POSTing into safe mode.

Retired · ‎10-20-2011

Raja that was quick and much appreciated.

The hardware on the motherboard is a 965XE, 3 sticks of Corsair XMS3 1600MHz memory, an MSI R6790 Lightning and an ASUS Xonar D2X. All being powered from a Thermaltake 1500w power supply. The board acts normally when powered, over clocks nicely and all. The rampage (this is sad) begins when pulled out of the plug...

Doesn't matter if it is over clocked or default when powered off, still acts all crazy.

TrickMasterPC · ‎10-20-2011

More than likely the solution is one of these items:

1) The Clear CMOS button on the peripheral plate of you motherboard is stuck in the Clear Position
2) The CMOS jumper is missing or set incorrectly (refer to PCB layout diagram for precise location)
3) Your CMOS battery terminals are not making proper contact with the battery. Use a small flat-head screw driver or precise needle nose pliers to bend out the battery holder spring/retention clips to ensure proper connection.

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Rampage V Edition 10
CPU: Intel 6950x 4.2GHz
GPU: 2x Nvidia ASUS RTX 3090 with EK Water Blocks
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 64GB (4x8GB) 3,600 MHz
M.2 SSD: Samsung 960 Pro NVMEI
Sound: Creative XFI Fatal1ty Champion Series
PSU: Corsair AX1200i

Retired · ‎10-21-2011

@TrickMasterPC thanks for the brainstorming. However, if your first assumption were correct, the motherboard wouldn't turn on at all. Try having pressed the reset button and powering on 😉

Second, all the jumpers are placed per manual instructions. I even tried another set of jumpers.
Third, the multimeter shows continuity between the battery terminals.

I still believe that the CMOS battery shorts somewhere on its way to the BIOS chips. @Raja under which circumstances does an R3BE POST into safe mode?

Raja · ‎10-21-2011

macchiaveli wrote:
@Raja under which circumstances does an R3BE POST into safe mode?

If the system isn't stable. Ensure that DRAM voltage and QPI voltage (VTT) are set properly for the memory. Some memory modules are a tough load for weak memory controllers.

-Raja

Retired · ‎10-21-2011

Update: I begged a friend with the some motherboard to lend it to me for a few hours so i could test. Turns out, my setup with his motherboard is perfect. So i believe i have a faulty motherboard...

Are there any other roads i can follow so as to RMA my main board to ASUS directly? I mean, i have the full bundle, box and every single thing it came with and the motherboard can't be more than two years old since it is only a few months since it came on sale.

Please, i am losing my mind...

Noein · ‎10-21-2011

Send it to shop where you purchased your mobo , they should do the rest .

Rampage III Black Edition CMOS issue