Why does my computer go straight to the bios?

Answer 1

You likely mean that it is going directly to the CMOS Setup. Every computer with a BIOS boots using the BIOS, but if the BIOS detects problems with the CMOS data, it goes to the CMOS setup so the user can fix it. What the BIOS does is verify to see if the calculated checksum of the stored data matches the recorded checksum. If they don't match, the CMOS settings are dumped and changed to the defaults, and the user is either prompted or taken to the CMOS settings.

While the CMOS can be scrambled at random or due to misbehaving software, the main cause would likely be a bad CMOS battery. It could also mean the CMOS chip is failing (since some contain an integrated battery) or that there are other hardware errors -- such as a stuck keyboard or a bad hard drive. It generally should tell you why you are being sent there. In a rare situation, someone may have the CMOS jumper in the wrong place, perhaps because they bought a motherboard themselves and received it that way.