Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Curt]

On 2020-01-29, Curt  wrote:
> On 2020-01-28, J. D. Leach  wrote:
>> To Whom it May Concern,
>>
>> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware 
>> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not allow 
>> ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto the PC. In 
>
> That's astounding, because Dell provides instructions for installing Ubuntu on
> this very machine.
>
> https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/fr/fr/frbsdt1/inspiron-3668-desktop/inspiron3668_setupandspecs/set-up-your-computer?guid=guid-47dddb93-f245-4113-bec4-98988598ae47=en-us
>
> Quote: 
>
>  6.Finish operating system setup.For Ubuntu: Follow the on-screen 
> instructions to
>complete the setup. For more information about installing and configuring
>Ubuntu, see the knowledge base articles SLN151664 and SLN151748 at
>www.dell.com/support.
>
> Below, Dell explains how to update the BIOS in a Linux or Ubuntu-only 
> environment:
>
> https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln171755/update-the-dell-bios-in-a-linux-or-ubuntu-environment?lang=en
>
> Can you provide any substantive evidence for your assertion?
>

Just to belabor the point, Dell lists Ubuntu® Desktop 16.04 as a
supported operating system for the Inspiron 3668:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/supportedos/inspiron-3668-desktop

The Inspiron 3668 is also one of the Dell machines that shipped with a factory 
Linux
install:

https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln305226/dell-client-systems-that-shipped-with-a-factory-install-of-linux?lang=en


-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Curt]

On 2020-01-28, J. D. Leach  wrote:
> To Whom it May Concern,
>
> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware 
> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not allow 
> ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto the PC. In 

That's astounding, because Dell provides instructions for installing Ubuntu on
this very machine.

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/fr/fr/frbsdt1/inspiron-3668-desktop/inspiron3668_setupandspecs/set-up-your-computer?guid=guid-47dddb93-f245-4113-bec4-98988598ae47=en-us

Quote: 

 6.Finish operating system setup.For Ubuntu: Follow the on-screen instructions 
to
   complete the setup. For more information about installing and configuring
   Ubuntu, see the knowledge base articles SLN151664 and SLN151748 at
   www.dell.com/support.

Below, Dell explains how to update the BIOS in a Linux or Ubuntu-only 
environment:

https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln171755/update-the-dell-bios-in-a-linux-or-ubuntu-environment?lang=en

Can you provide any substantive evidence for your assertion?

-- 
"J'ai pour me guérir du jugement des autres toute la distance qui me sépare de
moi." Antonin Artaud

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Ralph Katz]

On 1/27/20 10:13 PM, J. D. Leach wrote:
> To Whom it May Concern,
> 
> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware
> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not allow
> ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto the PC. In
> the BIOS configuration menu, no option is available to boot from the DVD
> drive, or USB, unless a Windows recovery media is detected. Linux loader
> programs likewise fail, and Windows loads instead. PC is about two years
> old.
> 
> Looked all across the 'Net and have found zero fixes outside of wiping
> the hard drive. The latest Dell support pages regarding the set up of
> the boot sequence does not cover the firmware installed on my PC.
> 
> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> other than what it approves of.
> 
> Thought you might wish to be aware.
> 
> Dave Leach
> 
> 

Worked fine for me on my new Dell 15-3567, no changes needed in BIOS
settings to install debian.  Upgraded to the new BIOS by loading the
.exe onto a FAT32 usb stick.  Directions:

https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln171755/update-the-dell-bios-in-a-linux-or-ubuntu-environment?lang=en#updatebios2015

Update the Dell BIOS in a Linux or Ubuntu environment

Good luck!
Ralph




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Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Nicholas Geovanis]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 11:29 AM Nate Bargmann  wrote:

> The foregoing is why I really want to see ARM evolve to be the basis of
> decent workstation performance.  Given the machinations being done to
> commodity hardware something more open with Coreboot or uboot is needed.
>

And in case you aren't referring to them directly, Google has definitively
shown
extreme vulnerabilities in the software on the service chips on many
(including Dell)
motherboards.

 https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/14/zombieload-flaw-intel-processors/

- Nate
>

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Nate Bargmann]

The foregoing is why I really want to see ARM evolve to be the basis of
decent workstation performance.  Given the machinations being done to
commodity hardware something more open with Coreboot or uboot is needed.

- Nate

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Web: https://www.n0nb.us
Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
GPG fingerprint: 82D6 4F6B 0E67 CD41 F689 BBA6 FB2C 5130 D55A 8819



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Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Roberto C . Sánchez]

On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 08:43:07AM -0700, ghe wrote:
> On 1/27/20 10:13 PM, J. D. Leach wrote:
> 
> > I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> > other than what it approves of.
> 
> "Sells" you mean...
> 
> I bought a Dell laptop a couple years ago, and it had a 'BIOS' like you
> describe. But there was an option in the several pages of BIOS to use
> 'Legacy' mode. It wasn't like any legacy BIOS I'd ever seen, but I did
> manage to get it to boot a civilized OS.
> 
> I just looked at servers on their website, and they have a feature they
> call "Optional Operating System". That implies they are available
> without Windows and will boot Debian. Servers, anyway.
> 
Dell, like some other large companies, ends up with competing interests.

There are parts of the company which are very Linux friendly (as can be
seen by some of the projects on their GitHub page [0], like the
thunderbolt for Linux driver and BIOS flash for Linux utility they
maintain).  This applies mostly to servers and enterprise products, but
there are actuall workstations, laptops, etc. that have good support for
non-Microsoft operating systems.  They even sell a laptop with Ubuntu
pre-installed (the XPS 13" Developer Edition).

But then, when it comes to consumer-targeted products, the customer
there wants to dictate what can and cannot be done (bearing in mind that
the customer is actually Microsoft, not the purchaser of the computer
itself).  That's why most of those systems (i.e., non-servers) end up
with locked down EFI configurations and hardware which is not well
supported or flat out won't work with Linux.

That's just how it goes.

Regards,

-Roberto

[0] https://github.com/dell

-- 
Roberto C. Sánchez

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[ghe]

On 1/27/20 10:13 PM, J. D. Leach wrote:

> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> other than what it approves of.

"Sells" you mean...

I bought a Dell laptop a couple years ago, and it had a 'BIOS' like you
describe. But there was an option in the several pages of BIOS to use
'Legacy' mode. It wasn't like any legacy BIOS I'd ever seen, but I did
manage to get it to boot a civilized OS.

I just looked at servers on their website, and they have a feature they
call "Optional Operating System". That implies they are available
without Windows and will boot Debian. Servers, anyway.

-- 
Glenn English

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[The Wanderer]

On 2020-01-28 at 03:23, Alexander V. Makartsev wrote:

> On 28.01.2020 10:13, J. D. Leach wrote:
>
>> To Whom it May Concern,
>>
>> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware
>> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not
>> allow ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto
>> the PC. In the BIOS configuration menu, no option is available to boot
>> from the DVD drive, or USB, unless a Windows recovery media is
>> detected. Linux loader programs likewise fail, and Windows loads
>> instead. PC is about two years old.
>>
>> Looked all across the 'Net and have found zero fixes outside of wiping
>> the hard drive. The latest Dell support pages regarding the set up of
>> the boot sequence does not cover the firmware installed on my PC.
>>
>> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
>> other than what it approves of.
>>
>> Thought you might wish to be aware.
>>
>> Dave Leach
>>
>
> On the second thought, there is a mention about installation procedures
> of alternative OSs in this document. [1]
>
> So now I think you simply have to make proper UEFI bootable media.
> Legacy boot media, prepared like in "the old times", won't cut it for
> this PC.
> 
> [1]
> https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/inspiron-3668-desktop_setup-guide_en-us.pdf

FWIW, when I've worked with recent Dell models (at my workplace) which
had this GPT/UEFI-boot-only requirement, they *only* applied it to the
hard drive; with the correct UEFI settings applied (disabling Secure
Boot, enabling Legacy Option ROMs under whatever name, and possibly
enabling "legacy external device" boot), it has been definitely possible
to boot to non-UEFI-partitioned non-GPT removable media.

I haven't had experience with this specific Inspiron model, but I'd be
surprised if it were any different.

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/04/inspiron-3668-desktop/inspiron%203668_sm/system-setup-options?guid=guid-2d1e8a4f-e5a2-49eb-823d-707f15a41edc=en-us
appears to be the appropriate manual for working with the UEFI on this
model. It lists the same "Enable Secure Boot" and "Enable Legacy Option
ROMs" settings I was expecting to see, and IIRC the final setting (which
may be optional) is under what "Boot List Option", mentioned near the
top of the document. So it's likely that this is in fact supported.

That said, I've also had problems with formatting, partitioning, and
installing to a hard drive (on one of these systems) for UEFI boot from
a "legacy"-booted external device - so there may be reason to go for a
UEFI-style bootable external device anyway.


(IIRC, the reason why "legacy" boot to internal devices is now
prohibited is not a Dell decision, or a Microsoft one, but a consequence
of an Intel decision which they've implemented in their motherboard
chipsets; Intel has apparently decided to drop all support for non-UEFI
boot to internal permanent hard drives, presumably for security reasons
of some kind, and since that's hardware Dell can't override it in the
firmware. So this won't be just on Dell computers, at least not going
forward, although IIRC AMD has not yet taken a similar step.)

-- 
   The Wanderer

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw



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Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Alexander V. Makartsev]

On 28.01.2020 10:13, J. D. Leach wrote:
> To Whom it May Concern,
>
> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware
> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not
> allow ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto
> the PC. In the BIOS configuration menu, no option is available to boot
> from the DVD drive, or USB, unless a Windows recovery media is
> detected. Linux loader programs likewise fail, and Windows loads
> instead. PC is about two years old.
>
> Looked all across the 'Net and have found zero fixes outside of wiping
> the hard drive. The latest Dell support pages regarding the set up of
> the boot sequence does not cover the firmware installed on my PC.
>
> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> other than what it approves of.
>
> Thought you might wish to be aware.
>
> Dave Leach
>
On the second thought, there is a mention about installation procedures
of alternative OSs in this document. [1]
So now I think you simply have to make proper UEFI bootable media.
Legacy boot media, prepared like in "the old times", won't cut it for
this PC.

[1]
https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/inspiron-3668-desktop_setup-guide_en-us.pdf

-- 
With kindest regards, Alexander.

⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ 
⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Debian - The universal operating system
⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://www.debian.org
⠈⠳⣄ 

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[Alexander V. Makartsev]

On 28.01.2020 10:13, J. D. Leach wrote:
> To Whom it May Concern,
>
> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware
> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not
> allow ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto
> the PC. In the BIOS configuration menu, no option is available to boot
> from the DVD drive, or USB, unless a Windows recovery media is
> detected. Linux loader programs likewise fail, and Windows loads
> instead. PC is about two years old.
>
> Looked all across the 'Net and have found zero fixes outside of wiping
> the hard drive. The latest Dell support pages regarding the set up of
> the boot sequence does not cover the firmware installed on my PC.
>
> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> other than what it approves of.
>
> Thought you might wish to be aware.
>
> Dave Leach
>
Thanks for the heads up, and I thought Dell OEM is GNU\Linux friendly.

I think, BIOS of your PC supports native EFI mode only, on top of
restricting ability to manually select bootable media. (I've never seen
a PC with restrictions like this, yet.)
Is there an option to at least disable Secure Boot, or is it forced too?
I'd try to switch hard disk with pre-installed OS to a blank one
(temporarily disconnect all hard disks for a test, if you don't have a
blank one) and make sure you've prepared UEFI-compatible bootable USB media.
If bootable USB media was made correctly, and there is no other bootable
disk found, it should start EFI bootloader from USB.
And if not, it is possible that Secure Boot prevents it from loading by
checking signature of bootloader against pre-installed in BIOS
certificates issued by Microsoft.
Usually there is an options in BIOS to disable Secure Boot or install
alternative certificates.
I've seen successful attempts to trick UEFI to load "grubx64.efi" EFI
bootloader by placing and renaming it to "/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi"
I think it is also possible to edit BCD boot loader settings to add one
more bootloader entry to the list and chainload "grubx64.efi". Just like
grub chainloads other bootloaders, but the other way around. I've not
tried this, but it looks doable.

-- 
With kindest regards, Alexander.

⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ 
⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Debian - The universal operating system
⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://www.debian.org
⠈⠳⣄ 

Re: Dell BIOS Changes

[deloptes]

J. D. Leach wrote:

> Have a Dell Inspiron 3668 desktop with the latest Dell firmware
> (1.12.2). This update, and numerous of the preceding ones, do not allow
> ANY type of loading of Debian (or any othe Linux flavor) onto the PC. In
> the BIOS configuration menu, no option is available to boot from the DVD
> drive, or USB, unless a Windows recovery media is detected. Linux loader
> programs likewise fail, and Windows loads instead. PC is about two years
> old.
> 
> Looked all across the 'Net and have found zero fixes outside of wiping
> the hard drive. The latest Dell support pages regarding the set up of
> the boot sequence does not cover the firmware installed on my PC.
> 
> I suspect Microsoft is back to trying to squelch the use of software
> other than what it approves of.
> 
> Thought you might wish to be aware.

Since last upgrade of the companies notebook it can no longer boot from NFS
(TFTP boot) or USB stick. The reason is UEFI+Secure boot. Unfortunately
they protected the bios with password, I do not have.

Might be you look into UEFI and secure boot unless it is defaulted and you
can not remove, which I doubt.

Re: Dell BIOS

[Felix Miata]

Mirko Parthey composed on 2017-01-17 00:36 (UTC+0100):


The BIOS clock could still have the correct time despite a dead battery
because the Linux system gets the time from an NTP server and writes it
to the BIOS clock on shutdown.  The clock then runs on ATX standby power
and will only lose its memory when the power cable is removed. The same
applies to the BIOS settings.


That's the logical expectation, but not the way it always works. Just hours ago 
on a Dell SFF Optiplex 745 I found a dead battery. After installing a new one I 
decided to remove it after first setting the BIOS clock and rebooting. Without 
having removed the power cable, only removing the battery and no other changes, 
on first subsequent boot it reported BIOS settings reset, and sure enough, clock 
was reset to its build date just short of 10 years ago.

--
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/

Re: Dell BIOS

[Mirko Parthey]

On Mon, Jan 16, 2017 at 11:52:48AM -0600, Martin McCormick wrote:
> change the boot sequence order from floppy-C:-CDROM to
> CDROM-floppy-C: or CDROM-C:-floppy which prevents the hard drive
> from grabbing the boot sequence each time.

There may be a function key that brings up a BIOS boot menu.
For Dell machines, it should be F12. Other candidates are F8 and F11.
Choosing an entry in the menu takes effect exactly once,
then the previous boot order is restored.
This feature might be useful to you if the entries are the same each
time and appear in the same order.

>   I don't think the CMOS batteries are dead because the
> clock still seems to keep time

Changing the battery is certainly worth trying.

The BIOS clock could still have the correct time despite a dead battery
because the Linux system gets the time from an NTP server and writes it
to the BIOS clock on shutdown.  The clock then runs on ATX standby power
and will only lose its memory when the power cable is removed. The same
applies to the BIOS settings.

Regards,
Mirko

Re: Dell BIOS

[John Hasler]

Joe writes:
> The ones I saw were Japanese components in Japanese television
> cameras, many of them broadcast. This was from the mid-90s onwards.

Japanese companies can get suckered by something that looks like a good
deal just like anyone else.

> And silent leakage of copper-dissolving electrolyte can stop things
> working just as well.

Better.  Explosions lead to more lawsuits, though.
-- 
John Hasler 
jhas...@newsguy.com
Elmwood, WI USA

Re: Dell BIOS

[Joe]

On Mon, 16 Jan 2017 15:54:05 -0600
John Hasler  wrote:

> Joe writes:
> > The electrolyte used in these [Japanese] capacitors  
> 
> They were Chinese knockoffs of a Japanese design.  However there was a
> proprietary trick that the Chinese missed and so they made and sold a
> vast number of caps that turned out to be defective.

The ones I saw were Japanese components in Japanese television cameras,
many of them broadcast. This was from the mid-90s onwards.

> 
> Electrolytics usually have burst membranes intended to prevent them
> from exploding when they evolve gas and they usually work on
> low-voltage ones.  They often work on high-voltage caps too, but
> other times you can get a nice bang.  Big motor starter capacitors
> can be fun that way.

And silent leakage of copper-dissolving electrolyte can stop things
working just as well.

-- 
Joe

Re: Dell BIOS

[John Hasler]

Joe writes:
> The electrolyte used in these [Japanese] capacitors

They were Chinese knockoffs of a Japanese design.  However there was a
proprietary trick that the Chinese missed and so they made and sold a
vast number of caps that turned out to be defective.

Electrolytics usually have burst membranes intended to prevent them from
exploding when they evolve gas and they usually work on low-voltage
ones.  They often work on high-voltage caps too, but other times you can
get a nice bang.  Big motor starter capacitors can be fun that way.
-- 
John Hasler 
jhas...@newsguy.com
Elmwood, WI USA

Re: Dell BIOS

[Joe]

On Mon, 16 Jan 2017 14:53:33 -0600
"Martin McCormick"  wrote:

> Felix Miata  writes:
> > What models are they? If of approximately 2002 to 2007 vintage,
> > they could be victims of the bad capacitor plague:
> > 
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague  
> 
>   Interesting article. These dells could possibly be in
> that group as one has a BIOS date of August 1, 2001 and another
> is July 12, 2000. Both are Dell desktops so they could possibly
> be in that group. By the way, very few electronic malfunctions
> are quite as spectacular as an electrolytic capacitor that
> develops a sudden and catastrophic internal short.
> 
>   It sounds like the caps discussed in the article have a
> safety valve in the form of the vent but nothing short of high
> explosives equals an electrolytic filter cap popping.
> 
>   It sounds like a firecracker and throws more aluminum
> foil shrapnel than one could think would fit in the case.
> 
>   I had one about the size of a thumb blow up on me once
> and I could still find pieces of plastic and foil 6 months later.
> 
>   Thanks for the link to the article.
> 

It doesn't have the whole story. I've seen thousands (literally: some
television cameras I have repaired contained over 100 dodgy capacitors)
of surface-mount aluminium electrolytics leaking. The electrolyte used
in these [Japanese] capacitors was obviously very conductive, but it
also dissolved copper. There was literally no limit to the types of
fault caused by some tracks disappearing and some being bridged
together.

The mention of 'amine' rings a bell, when hot this electrolyte smelled
of fish, so the quick way to distinguish between harmless flux left on
a PCB after manufacture, and the brownish electrolyte, was to touch a
soldering iron to it. Evil stuff.

-- 
Joe

Re: Dell BIOS

[Martin McCormick]

Felix Miata  writes:
> What models are they? If of approximately 2002 to 2007 vintage, they could
> be victims of the bad capacitor plague:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

Interesting article. These dells could possibly be in
that group as one has a BIOS date of August 1, 2001 and another
is July 12, 2000. Both are Dell desktops so they could possibly
be in that group. By the way, very few electronic malfunctions
are quite as spectacular as an electrolytic capacitor that
develops a sudden and catastrophic internal short.

It sounds like the caps discussed in the article have a
safety valve in the form of the vent but nothing short of high
explosives equals an electrolytic filter cap popping.

It sounds like a firecracker and throws more aluminum
foil shrapnel than one could think would fit in the case.

I had one about the size of a thumb blow up on me once
and I could still find pieces of plastic and foil 6 months later.

Thanks for the link to the article.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ

Re: Dell BIOS

[Felix Miata]

Martin McCormick composed on 2017-01-16 11:52 (UTC-0600):


I don't know how common this is but the BIOS' of two Dell
Optiplexes plus the BIOS of another Dell Dimension don't stay set
the way one would like them to. As a computer user who happens to


What models are they? If of approximately 2002 to 2007 vintage, they could be 
victims of the bad capacitor plague:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

I've resurrected several, but also failed on several, by replacing bad caps.


be blind, the setup process is a royal pain in the backside
because since there is no OS booted, the only output device is
the VGA output. I have to hook it up to a monitor and have
someone like my kind and patient wife or, before I retired, a
coworker change the boot sequence order from floppy-C:-CDROM to
CDROM-floppy-C: or CDROM-C:-floppy which prevents the hard drive
from grabbing the boot sequence each time.


I sympathize. I have a bunch of different models Optiplexes. I've had three 
different ones waste an obscene amount of my time lately. Each of these is 
installed in locations that make opening them up for maintenance a significant 
inconvenience.


The first, a 780 with a Dell PCIe DVI port card and connected via DisplayPort, 
when shut down from Linux puts my new Dell 21:9 display to sleep in a fashion 
from which it cannot be awakened until after I remove and replace the 780's 
power cable. Even after a BIOS update it took quite some time to determine that 
the only way to acquire normal behavior was to remove the DVI port card.


The second, a 745, even with latest BIOS, has taken to reporting low battery 
voltage, after the previous battery voltage was reduced to nil. I replaced it 
with a brand new battery with measured voltage up to specification, but it still 
pauses at every power up to report low voltage even though clock is correct.


The third, a 270, has decided to randomly report failed RAM. Each time it has 
done so I've opened it, wiggled or removed and replaced the sticks, and then it 
would work normally. As I write this I'm running Memtest86+ on it after having 
replaced both sticks with matched pair of different brand but same 3-3-3-8 CL3 
specification.



I don't think the CMOS batteries are dead because the
clock still seems to keep time so I am guessing that something
happens that the BIOS code sees as an error maybe during bootup
so it decides to re-order the sequence. One doesn't discover this
until the next time the CDROM doesn't spin up when a bootable
disk is in it. By the way, the CDROM works fine when mounting a
CD or ripping one.


Clocks will keep time even with voltage quite low. Batteries are cheap enough, 
as little as $2US for a card of 5 or 6, that they should be replaced, or at 
least checked with a voltmeter, if ever there is any indication of a problem 
that might be CMOS related. It's also a good idea when a battery has needed to 
be changed, to clear CMOS, then restore any desired custom settings.

--
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/