I was messing around with my BIOS and changed the divider settings. Now my PC wont boot and tehre's a long beep. I've read from different posts thhat this means a memory problem but the memory is properly placed. Hw do I get the BIOS to change back to its original settings when I cant even boot? Help would be greatly apreciated.

If you can access the BIOS, there will be an option to default all settings. If you're saying you can't even get that far, then open the case up and look for a silver battery on the motherboard. Unplug the PC from power source, then take the battery out, wait a few minutes, then put the battery back in and restart the PC. This will default your BIOS/CMOS settings. You'll just have to set the correct time in there again, and possibly change anything else that wasn't set up as default configuration.

You need to reset the CMOS mempry. CMOS is where the various settings are stored. There shoul be a jumper on the motherboard to do this. You just remove the jumper and replace it on the other pin for a few seconds then replace it in its original position. You will need the motherboard manual to find out where it is. Failing that, you can remove the battery and leave it out for a few minutes untill the information drains. Try booting with the battery out until it starts and puts you into the setup screen. When this happens, turn the computer off and replace the battery. The Motherboard should then start up with its factory default settings. Stuart

Erm, *doesnt know much about computer parts* There's a whole bunch of silver cylinder things but I have no idea which is a battery. Can you tell me which is the battery from this pic of the mobo? http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=13-135-139-01.JPG/13-135-139-04.JPG/13-135-139-02.JPG/13-135-139-03.JPG

Ah, great. Switching the jumpers for a bit worked. Thanks a lot.

For future reference I had a look at your motherboard. The battery appears to be in the bottom left hand corner next to the Floppy interface. Its mounted virtical which is unusual. Batteries are usually mounted horizontal. Vertical is better as it will be easier to remove and replace. The battery looks like an oversized silver coin. You will need to replace the battery after about three or four years. A sure sign that the battery is nearing the end of its life is when the computer clock starts getting erratic. All the black things with silver tops are capacitors. Dont try taking them out or you wont have a motherboard any longer. Stuart