Here are my specs

ASUS P4P800VM mobo with 1017 BIOS,integrated graphics/sound/LAN
P4 2.6ghz 800fsb 478pin
Volcano Tt HSF (loud)
CoolerMaster 430w PSU
1gb Corsair PC3200 XMS memory
Seagate 250g SATA150 HDD
Pioneer DVD+R
a DVD/CD-RW
Silverstone Berserker case w/4-80mm, 1-120mm fans
Envision old CRT 19"

I'm staring at my friendly POST text now. A couple days ago I got the mobo installed and a big smile when it POSTed immediately on the first try. But the BIOS was too outdated for some of my spicier parts. So I updated it. Another big smile. Restarted without a hitch. The only thing nagging me through both of these BIOSs though is the message "CPU Fan Error!" that pauses the boot. Also, while I was figuring out the BIOS upgrade I was told by a guy at school to reset the CMOS settings in order to facilitate it. The BIOS finally upgraded fine with EZ Flash, but his lightbulb idea for the CMOS has produced "CMOS Settings Wrong" and "CMOS Date/Time Not Set" above the Fan message :rolleyes: . I have gone into my spanking new BIOS Setup to fix the settings but when I hit F10 and save them it restarts and voila ( damnit!:mad: ) they're back to the same settings that I assume are causing the problems (including the "IGNORE" setting for the fan that won't stay put and the priority drive settings that will hopefully let me boot my cheapo NT Workstation disc :cool: ). I thought it might be that the battery was dead but I changed it. No luck. I jumped it again. No luck. I remembered how stupid I was when I noticed the green mobo light on during this second desperation jump but nothing seems fatally fried. Anyhow please reassure me that I'm stupid and tell me what it is I can't see. PLEASE. And thanks for reading all that.:D

Edit:
Just seen your curret bios version.....

I'm thinking about trying a CMOS floppy boot that someone has for download on the web. Has anyone tried this method of saving the CMOS/BIOS settings? If the CMOS settings are getting the error message does that refer to all of the SETUP menus or is it just the time and date?

CMOS Settings Wrong" and "CMOS Date/Time Not Set
Apart from having a bad battery, possibly you need to reset the CMOS either by removing the battery overnight or by shorting the CMOS reset-jumper (if one exists on the mobo).

Resetting CMOS this way is not the same as hitting the reset defaults or similar setting in the BIOS setup.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps I did blow something when I jumped the CMOS. The battery worked fine before I jumped it. I've tried replacing it the battery with one from another mobo. Has anyone ever jumped their CMOS with the power plugged in and the mobo light on?