A checksum error is reported by some BIOS as a way ( not a very good way)
of telling you the system no longer matches saved values.  You would normally
fix this simply by entering CMOS and immediately hitting "Exit, Save changes"
even though you did not physically change anything, and some auto-set values
would be stored, and the error message goes away.  Memory size on an old
486 is a case in point.  It is not a good message because checksum errors can
also mean, among other things probably, that the battery is dead, or that CMOS
has been dumped.  In these cases, you need to reenter all the settings in CMOS,
or load defaults, before you save.
Tom Turak
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----------
From:   Jim Meagher[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Thursday, April 23, 1998 8:29 AM

I vaguely remember something like this for 286 and some of
the very earliest versions of 386 PCs.  But I don't recall
a setting in CMOS for the amount of RAM on any 486 systems.
What brand and/or version of BIOS requires this?


> -----Original Message-----
> From:  Jeff Black
>
> Alot of times that error is just telling you that the CMOS is set to a
> different amount of RAM then you currently have in the pc.
>
>    Jeff Black
>    Hans On Systems
>
> >Bill M. Smith wrote:
> >
> >> Hi All,
> >> I'am putting together a computer from old spare parts for my son.When I
> >> booted it up I got a "CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR", Press F-2 To Enter
> Setup.