Ever had a BIOS not let you change the date/time? \ VOGONS

Ever had a BIOS not let you change the date/time?

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First post, by Syntho

Posted on 2024-06-18, 01:16

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I've got a late '96 to '97 BIOS from American Megatrends. The motherboard is an Aopen AP5VM. This BIOS has a GUI, which is a first for me (at least on an old PC). I'm having some issues with getting a new battery working in it. I put in a DS12887A mod and it tells me to enter BIOS setup. I go in and change things, but it won't let me change the date. And I mean, when I go to the numerical day, month and year, I keep hitting + and - as well as use my mouse to point and click and it won't change at all. It lets me change the time though.

So I save the settings and restart and it gives me "BIOS Checksum Bad" every time now. I thought my new battery holder wasn't soldered correctly so I resoldered it, but it's still the same. Then I upgraded the BIOS chip thinking my BIOS was bad, but that doesn't help either.

I'm not sure why it won't let me change the date. I've got a new battery mod on the way to me. Is there anything else I should check? I'm thinking I can't change the date because the battery mod isn't working correctly.

Reply 1 of 8, by rasz_pl

Posted on 2024-06-18, 03:33

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Syntho wrote on 2024-06-18, 01:16:

I put in a DS12887A mod

does the clock tick in the bios? what RTC chip was there before? most compatible repair is to file the original chip and solder battery holder with a diode directly to it

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Reply 2 of 8, by Syntho

Posted on 2024-06-18, 04:16

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The clock ticks in the bios, and I can alter the time, I just can't alter the date. It was a DS12887A.

Reply 3 of 8, by brian105

Posted on 2024-06-18, 07:13

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Easiest way to see if something is wrong is using the date command in DOS.

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Reply 4 of 8, by Syntho

Posted on 2024-06-18, 18:34

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brian105 wrote on 2024-06-18, 07:13:

Easiest way to see if something is wrong is using the date command in DOS.

Yeah but I can't get that far since it says I need to go into the BIOS to set it up first every time.

Reply 5 of 8, by jakethompson1

Posted on 2024-06-18, 18:44

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Syntho wrote on 2024-06-18, 18:34:

brian105 wrote on 2024-06-18, 07:13:

Easiest way to see if something is wrong is using the date command in DOS.

Yeah but I can't get that far since it says I need to go into the BIOS to set it up first every time.

Sometimes, if it does that to you, but then you exit BIOS setup without saving, it will go ahead and boot, albeit with the default settings (hopefully 1.44MB floppy at least)

Reply 6 of 8, by Syntho

Posted on 2024-06-18, 22:34

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jakethompson1 wrote on 2024-06-18, 18:44:

Syntho wrote on 2024-06-18, 18:34:

brian105 wrote on 2024-06-18, 07:13:

Easiest way to see if something is wrong is using the date command in DOS.

Yeah but I can't get that far since it says I need to go into the BIOS to set it up first every time.

Sometimes, if it does that to you, but then you exit BIOS setup without saving, it will go ahead and boot, albeit with the default settings (hopefully 1.44MB floppy at least)

Actually, yeah, this seems to work. It's asking for a floppy or HD or just something to boot from. I'm thinking the battery holder is what's causing this so I've got a new one on the way. Will update once I get it.

Reply 7 of 8, by Syntho

Posted on 2024-07-21, 06:39

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I forgot to update this post. Turns out it was just a defective battery mod. I was sent a new one and it worked fine as soon as I soldered it in.

Reply 8 of 8, by analog_programmer

Posted on 2024-07-21, 17:54

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Yes, usually this happens when battery in RTC module is depleted.

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