CPU is unworkable or has been changed

[ChrisGreaves]

Award Plug and Play BIOS Extension v 1.0A © 1999; Main processor CELERON™ 700MHz(66x10.5)

The message after a reboot is:-
“CPU is unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck – CPU SOFT MENU; F1 to continue”; this began arriving shortly after I re-cabled the office, but I haven’t made any changes to the Big Beige Box hardware in at least 5 years, except for swapping IDE boot drives in and out.

If I tap the F1 function key, the Big Beige Box reboots and life continues normally – i.e. WinAmp grinds through 27GB of music 24/365 until I reboot.
So this is not a mission-critical problem.
I tap DEL and then F7 to load all fail-safe defaults ad get the same message; F1 boots happily.
I tap DEL and Enter SOFT MENU III. There is a list of settings for CPU speed and I try them one by one, with no success – the default is 300(66), the remainder are 333(66), 366(66), 400(66), 400(100), 433(66), 450(100), but the two suffixed (100) just kill the machine – I have to flip the power rocker-switch on the back, then flip it on, then press the power-on button to get going again.

http://www.google.com/search?q=CPU%20is%20unworkable%20or%20has%20been%20changed reveals a zillion pages of which:
(1) pcreview.co.uk/forums suggested “remove the battery, wait a few seconds, replace …”
(2) pchelpforum.com/processor-cpu suggests "disconnect all hardware and all but one RAM stick …"

I try suggestion (1) “remove the battery, wait a few seconds, replace …” long enough to make a cup of tea, say 4 minutes. Same result.

I then remove the battery and do not replace it – same result – F1 continues the boot process quite happily!
My conclusion – the battery is flat.
The only thing that has changed is time, and the battery wears out over time, right?

[HansV]

Sounds like a reasonable explanation...

[ChrisGreaves]

Sounds like a reasonable explanation...

OK, thanks Hans.
I neglected to go out and buy that $3.45 voltmeter thingy, so tomorrow morning once we've all had breakfast, I'll slip the battery under Jupiter's tongue to see if it has any charge left.
JUST KIDDING!
Truth is I can't remember when I last bought a battery for any of the computers, and my memory isn't that bad.
It's got to be at least five years.
Into the wallet it goes, ready for my next trip downtown.

[Guest]

I don't think I've ever changed the little battery on any of my desktops. But I'm guessing that by removing it, the CPU may then have to reset itself. I think I've done that before on a couple desktops with some success.

[ChrisGreaves]

I don't think I've ever changed the little battery on any of my desktops.

Hi Lynn.

I've had this Big Beige Box since at least 1995, so the battery in it might be 16 years old, or more.
Replacement events are sufficiently far between for me not to remember them.