In the last few days I've been having problems with vista shutting down due to critical errors. The computer would reboot, then it would start back up and the time in vista is reset to 2002? All my programs are highlighted in the start bar as if they have just been installed, and other weird things.

These are the only error messages I have seen (as it has also happened when I am not home);





So doing some research on microsoft (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa469203.aspx and http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa469184.aspx) it seems that perhaps the video driver froze and vista could not get it to restart, so it rebooted.
Can't figure out why the video driver froze, unless my vid card is failing or overheating. Temp logs are fine though.

But then again, why the date change?

Now this morning, I turn the computer on and the MSI-live screen comes on and tells me my cmos battery is low and that the cmos date/time is not set. I start up the bios and what do you know, the date is 2002.

SO my questions are: are my problems lately due to the motherboard, or is there possibly a hardware conflict? Is the date change on vista related to the motherboard cmos battery? And if the battery is only low, why would the date and time need to be reset? I could see doing that if the battery was dead and had to be replaced. Lastly - should I change the battery? I have never overclocked or tweaked any bios settings, so if I change the battery everything should theoretically be the same when it the cmos comes back to life. Note: the battery warning only came up once, I have since shut it down and restarted it with no warnings.

I'd appreciate any insight or direction at all. Thanks.

System set-up:
msi-k9agm2
amdx2 4200
4g ddr2 533 ram (2x2g sticks)
650 watt ocz stealth psu
xfx 8800gt pci-e
vista (32bit)

Battery will run ya 10$, I'd go that way first. Although video drivers (NV especially) have been the bane of Vista since it's inception. I'd also try upgrading to newer/older forceware and see what happens.

^^

agree

Agreed with Steve-O.

Also consider windows 7 at some point. Nvidia and ATI alike now support Windows 7 32 and 64-bit systems in terms of drivers.

Yes, one cannot stress enough Vista's supreme suckage!

I've never really had any problems with vista. I'm not saying its the greatest, but I've never had any issues.

I replaced the battery on Sunday, so far no more issues. Only cost me a little over $8. If it acts up again - I'll be back here

Thanks all.

Good to hear you may have it worked out - we all know when puters act up it can get a lil frustrating/pain in the right a$$ cheek

Only 8$, man I do not have a clue on battery prices

Hmm, maybe a coincidence, but there have been a lot of battery/cmos problems happening lately. I've had cmos problems with my home pc, work pc and a few work pc's i been repairing.

Not good, but an easy and cheap fix...

I think overall the CMOS's are fine and are "relatively" tested from the manufacturer. The battery's are probably not tested for longevity. Not only that but batteries are probably more prone to manufacturing defects especially if they are a widely used cheap brand. Not to mention how long they have been sitting in a warehouse in a box. For example a AM2 board could be sitting for a few years before someone has purchased it or even a S775 by now.

Just a thought.

So its been almost 2 weeks since I replaced the battery and I have had no issues since. Weird how windows can have "video errors" from a cmos battery. Anyways, I'm glad it was something simple and cheap

lmfao @ tops avatar and description

Its good to hear all issues went away. Also keep in mind if it happens again, you will remember what you did to fix it.