[LBo] OT: Hardware Problem

[Geoff Jones]

I have started to get message " checking nvram - no nvram " when I boot one of 
my pc.s. Below is what I googled:-

"NVRAM is memory on a chip that is supposed to retain its information after 
the system has been powered down, and receives its small amount of power 
needed to keep it from the CMOS battery installed in your motherboard. It's 
the area of the BIOS chip that retains personalized settings that have been 
configured by a user in the motherboard's BIOS (setup) menu. if the NVRAM is 
failing, what that means is that basic BIOS default settings remain, but any 
specialized settings that are customized to the specific hardware that you 
have are not being retained properly. Since the BIOS relies on the settings 
stored in NVRAM in order to best handle the particular hardware you have, 
performance may not be optimized for stability and performance any longer."

I have 2 hard disks: hda/ide0 with windows and hdc/ide1 with linux distros.
Grub is installed on hda MBR and works o.k. I can boot my linux distros o.k. 
but windo$e won't boot ( aaahhh ).
I can however mount the windows h/d in linux and access it's files.

2 questions:-
1] Will linux boot because the kernel holds all the required info whilst winxp 
needs access to cmos/bios ?
2] Under linux, the system clock works - does this indicate that cmos battery 
is o.k. and fault may lie with nvram chip on motherboard?

The system is fully "loaded" - cdr/dvdr drives, s/blaster + tv cards, 2 h/d.s 
etc. They all seem to work under linux ( hurray ).Seems I have 2 options -
1) Rectify / replace m/board problem ( tricky + time consuming )
2) Kick windo£e into touch + just have a pure linux m/c.

[ Once again, a big thanks to all on list - without my development of linux 
know-how in last 12 months, I would just have a "dead" box ! ].

Any ideas would be gratefully received,
Geoff.