
It is usually located in an exposed housing on the motherboard. Once the internal components are accessible, find and remove the CMOS battery, which essentially looks like a large watch battery. If you’re unsure how to do this, refer to the manufacturer’s information, but be warned that doing so may void your warranty.Ģ. For desktop PCs, CMOS battery removal is relatively straightforward: ensure your machine is powered down and remove all external cables, then open up the case to reveal the hardware inside.Since this CMOS gets powered by a small battery (about the size of a nickel), the second BIOS reset option is to remove it. Option 2: Remove the CMOS Battery on Your Laptop or Desktop PC

Instead, the computer goes back to its standard start-up settings. Don’t worry none of your files or OS data will be modified or deleted, that’s all stored on the HDD or SSD. Then, reinsert the plug back in place, or, in the case of a three pin set up, place it back on the original outer pin.īy removing the plug from the pins, the BIOS basically ‘forgets’ what settings to use at startup and reverts to its defaults.
