# How should I clear CMOS in Asus z97 progamer?



## Master (Dec 12, 2018)

Hello everyone.
I tried overclocking my 4790k, but it seems I messed up ( set all cores to 45, and set vcore to manual to 1.093 (which was the default in bios! and then set offset to 0.090)
I also set my ram frequency to 1600 (two modules were 1333 however, (2 2gig modules)). saved and rebooted and it stuck at boot!
I removed the two 2 gig 1333mhz modules, but it did not boot (it boots , it beeps one time and at the Asus logo screen(when it says press del or F2 to enter BIOS) it hangs
I tried to clear the cmos, removed the battery for 1 2 minutes while the PC was turned off and the power cord unplugged!
plugged the cord, turned on , yet it hangs at the boot, it seems it does not clear the bios!.
I headed to the motherboard manual, it says :


> Z97-PRO GAMER Clear RTC RAM
> 
> To erase the RTC RAM:
> 1.    Turn OFF the computer and unplug the power cord.
> ...


I did so, turned off the PC, removed the powercord from the PSU, and waited the internal power left in the mb to go away, then
removed the jumper and placed it on pins 2-3, waited more than 10 seconds. moved it back. plugged the powercord to the PSU,
turned on the PC. Again nothing happens, and everything is the same. I did this for maybe 10 times and nothing helped.
in the manual it also says :


> If the steps above do not help, remove the onboard battery and move the jumper
> again to clear the CMOS RTC RAM data. After clearing the CMOS, reinstall the
> battery.
> You do not need to clear the RTC when the system hangs due to overclocking. For
> ...


First of all, I shut down, and restarted the PC for like 10 times, maybe even more, and the so called CPR never happened to me! so I tried the first paragraph!:
Turned off the PC, removed the power cord from the PSU, waited until the internal power left in the motherboard goes away,
then I removed the battery,
then removed the jumper and placed it on pins 2-3, waited more than 10 seconds. moved it back. plugged the power cord into the PSU,
turned on the PC. Again nothing happens

I even tried turning on the PC without the battery. but that didnt work either and I still faced the very same thing.
What am I missing here? am I doing it wrong? what should I do now ?


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## STSMiner (Dec 12, 2018)

Looks like you have tried every thing in the manual for that board.

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...12.1622162141.1544614489-560047884.1544614489

There is another option you can try, that's on page 2-3  >>   ASUS Z97-PRO GAMER - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility

That's what I would try next if it was me.


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## Master (Dec 12, 2018)

STSMiner said:


> Looks like you have tried every thing in the manual for that board.
> 
> https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...12.1622162141.1544614489-560047884.1544614489
> 
> ...


I dont know why, but I cant understand how that is supposed to clear the cmos, while there is no power at all! especially when the battery is also removed, and the power cord is also unplugged, how could possibly this change anything?!!

ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility  doesnt work either, I copy the bios to the usb flash drive and plug it to the PC, but the system hangs at the logo screen and it doesn't get the chance to load that utility it seems!
I dont know what to honestly. any help is greatly appreciated.


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## STSMiner (Dec 12, 2018)

Remove those 2gig memory cards, leave the 2 8gigs in the rig, see if it boots with them in slots A1 A2, if it fails try the other slots.
(I see you removed the 2gig memory cards), try the 8 gig cards in the other slots.


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## Bones (Dec 12, 2018)

You may need to let it sit overnight with the machine unplugged and the battery removed to get it cleared. 
Some machines are like that for whatever reason, yours may be one of them.


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## John Naylor (Dec 12, 2018)

Agree with STS Miner on just using the 2 x 8Gb of RAM ...however, Asus isn't exactly consistent with their slot labeling.  With Z87, it was A1 / B1 (Asus Maximums VI Formula) .  For your Z97 Pro Gamer, RAM should go into A2/B2

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/.../E10265_Z97-PRO_GAMER_Guide_v2_web_hi_res.pdf







The Clear CMOS Jumper and instructions on using are on page 1-21 of the manual... see above link

NOTE: Read the OC'ing fail note at bottom of page


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## Master (Dec 12, 2018)

STSMiner said:


> Remove those 2gig memory cards, leave the 2 8gigs in the rig, see if it boots with them in slots A1 A2, if it fails try the other slots.
> (I see you removed the 2gig memory cards), try the 8 gig cards in the other slots.





John Naylor said:


> Agree with STS Miner on just using the 2 x 8Gb of RAM ...however, Asus isn't exactly consistent with their slot labeling.  With Z87, it was A1 / B1 (Asus Maximums VI Formula) .  For your Z97 Pro Gamer, RAM should go into A2/B2
> 
> https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/.../E10265_Z97-PRO_GAMER_Guide_v2_web_hi_res.pdf
> 
> ...



I did all of that, but no luck so far!


Bones said:


> You may need to let it sit overnight with the machine unplugged and the battery removed to get it cleared.
> Some machines are like that for whatever reason, yours may be one of them.


I'm going to do this and check if this works out!


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 12, 2018)

Power psu off totally, place jumper cap on clear cmos, wait 24 hrs, move it back to normal...

Stop pannicking too, its only a computer...


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## Master (Dec 13, 2018)

eidairaman1 said:


> Power psu off totally, place jumper cap on clear cmos, wait 24 hrs, move it back to normal...
> 
> Stop pannicking too, its only a computer...


Its been nearly 12 hours, and the problem isn't gone!!! could a motherboard without a cmos battery retain its memory that long?
by the way here is how I tried to reset/clear the cmos yesterday  in case it might help : https://streamable.com/mzj0b


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 13, 2018)

Master said:


> Its been nearly 12 hours, and the problem isn't gone!!! could a motherboard without a cmos battery retain its memory that long?
> by the way here is how I tried to reset/clear the cmos yesterday  in case it might help : https://streamable.com/mzj0b



Some boards need battery in in order to clear the eeprom


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## STSMiner (Dec 13, 2018)

OK, I've watched the video, you have done everything that I would have done.

Now it's time to take that PC apart, remove all the cards, GPU card, and any other cards that are in it, the motherboard has VGA connectors on the back to connect a monitor, use these with your display.

Also remove / unplug all data leads for the hard drives and if you have one M2 drive, take it out of the system, boot the PC up in bare bones, nothing connected other than memory and CPU and your keyboard.

See if you can enter the BIOS screen with no hardware connected to it.


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## BadFrog (Dec 13, 2018)

Have you tried using only 1 stick of ram and booting?


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## Master (Dec 13, 2018)

Thanks to dear God and you guys CMOS finally got erased and I could load the default settings.


BadFrog said:


> Have you tried using only 1 stick of ram and booting?


yeah I did that and that didnt work.


STSMiner said:


> OK, I've watched the video, you have done everything that I would have done.
> 
> Now it's time to take that PC apart, remove all the cards, GPU card, and any other cards that are in it, the motherboard has VGA connectors on the back to connect a monitor, use these with your display.
> 
> ...


i did that, yet nothing changed . then I noticed :


eidairaman1 said:


> Some boards need battery in in order to clear the eeprom


and decided to insert CMOS battery again and wait some hours and hope this does the trick. I inserted the cmos battery and decided to test if I attached everything correctly and that beep sound happens. to my surprise I was faced with the erased CMOS message! "Press f1 to enter Bios ..." 
and there you know the rest.
Thank you all for your hints and generous helps . God bless you all


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## STSMiner (Dec 13, 2018)

Glad you got it working, now leave those BIOS settings alone.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 13, 2018)

Master said:


> Thanks to dear God and you guys CMOS finally got erased and I could load the default settings.
> 
> yeah I did that and that didnt work.
> 
> ...



God Bless You too


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## gquiring (Jun 23, 2021)

I have the Z97-A M/B with the same problem.  I removed the power, moved the jumper, waited 5 minutes, moved it back.  When I boot I get the BIOS screen, press F1 for setup.  When I press F1 I get a blank screen.  How long do you have to leave the jumper in positions 2-3?


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jun 23, 2021)

just got a 4790k myself to have a toy with. Mines in a msi z87i gaming ac with hyperX savage 2400. got a rog maximus vii gene coming though.

Glad you sorted it, you still gonna have a pop at overclocking it, or have you given up.


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## gquiring (Jun 23, 2021)

Finally after days of reading posts, it was my bluray optical drive!  I had removed everything except that.  Once I removed it, the BIOS is accessible.


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