▷ What is cmos and what is it for (best explanation)

Almost all motherboards have a battery in their circuit . Since we know that many of you are unaware of the meaning or function of the CMOS stack and CMOS memory, we decided to make a short article to explain all the details. It is an element that has great importance in any motherboard.

Below, you will find everything you need.

What is CMOS ( Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor)

Translated into Spanish, the complementary metal oxide semiconductor uses a set of transistors to ensure that it maintains a minimum current to the motherboard when the computer is turned off. This item solves a problem: unconfiguring the BIOS after turning off the PC.

There is often confusion with the CMOS battery and CMOS memory. The first is a simple battery that is connected to the motherboard to supply some power to the motherboard when the computer is turned off. It is known as a CR2032 battery and has a lifespan of up to 10 years. This can be reduced, forcing us to replace it. The symptoms of a dead battery are:

BIOS configuration loss . Outdated date. Black screen with text that says "CMOS BATTERY LOW".

The second is a kind of small memory that stores the BIOS settings of our motherboard. It is not only used to save the overclock we have made, but also to keep the correct time and date values. Otherwise, if we turn off the computer, turn it on and access the BIOS we will see that it is unconfigured, such as its date and time out of date.

All the importance of CMOS is related to the BIOS of the motherboard, a section that becomes very important when we want to overclock, change the boot device or locate and solve problems that arise on our motherboard.

CMOS is one thing and BIOS another, they just work together.

How to clear CMOS

BIOS chip. Image: Flickr, Uwe Hermann

First of all, in the case of clearing the CMOS, we will clear the configuration of our BIOS, restoring completely. Some of you may wonder why would I want to reset my BIOS? A bad configuration is your answer.

Sometimes we go into the BIOS without having much idea, modifying values whose consequence is fatal. Others, we do not have to have done anything in particular, but the problem comes from a hardware incompatibility . In the end, a good BIOS "formatting" is the best we can do to restore the logical order.

For this, there are certain methods that help us to get clear or reset the CMOS. As we will deal with it another time, we will mention the methods a bit:

By removing the CMOS battery and replacing it. You have no more, simply remove the battery and reinstall it to solve the problem. Cut the Clear CMOS jumper. With the computer turned off, we open the PC and go to the motherboard. We look for the jumper next to the name CLEAR CMOS and remove the jumper to remove the CMOS. We verify in the BIOS that the configuration has been restored and we put the jumper back. Return to factory defaults. We turn on the PC and go to the BIOS using the key combination that the manufacturer of the motherboard says (SUPR, F1, F2…). Once inside, we will go to the configuration section and look for the option that says "restore factory defaults" or something similar. We do it and restart.

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We hope that it has become clearer what a CMOS is, how it works and what it is for. If you have not understood, express your doubts below and we will be happy to answer you.

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