# VAL-M.2 Restoring Arcade Legends System BIOS Settings - Upright Cabinet

**Source:** Chicago Gaming Company  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-05-09  
**Duration:** 10m 15s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5xXW-gTKxg

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## Analysis

Butch Peele from Chicago Gaming Company provides a technical tutorial on replacing the CR2032 lithium CMOS battery in Arcade Legends and Ultimate Arcade upright cabinets and restoring BIOS settings after battery depletion causes boot failures. The video covers step-by-step disassembly, battery replacement, and motherboard-specific BIOS configuration procedures to restore factory settings and system functionality.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Commercial computer motherboards are used as the processing units in Arcade Legends and Ultimate Arcade upright video games — _Direct statement by Butch Peele identifying the core hardware architecture_
- [HIGH] Onboard lithium batteries in these motherboards drain over time and eventually lose BIOS settings when depleted — _Technical explanation of CMOS battery degradation and its consequences for system boot_
- [HIGH] When CMOS battery fails, the system cannot complete boot without the specialized BIOS instructions and resets to manufacturer defaults — _Explanation of boot failure mechanism when BIOS settings are lost_
- [HIGH] The replacement battery required is a CR2032 3-volt lithium cell — _Explicitly stated in materials list and throughout battery replacement instructions_

### Notable Quotes

> "Commercial computer motherboards were used as the brains or processing units in these Arcade Legends and Ultimate Arcade upright video games."
> — **Butch Peele**, Introduction
> _Establishes the core hardware architecture of Chicago Gaming's arcade cabinet systems_

> "Unfortunately, this lithium cell, like all batteries, drains over time. When it gets to the point that it can no longer power the motherboard's memory, the BIOS instructions are lost."
> — **Butch Peele**, Early section
> _Explains the root cause of system boot failures in aging arcade cabinets_

> "In short, the Arcade Legends or Ultimate Arcade system tries to boot up but cannot complete the process without its specialized BIOS instructions."
> — **Butch Peele**, Problem statement
> _Summarizes the failure scenario that the tutorial addresses_

> "The battery holder is extremely fragile, so be careful."
> — **Butch Peele**, Battery replacement instructions
> _Safety warning about potential component damage during service_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Manufacturer of Arcade Legends and Ultimate Arcade upright video game cabinets; publisher of this technical support video |
| Butch Peele | person | Technical support/education representative for Chicago Gaming Company; narrator and presenter of the BIOS restoration tutorial |
| Arcade Legends | product | Line of upright arcade cabinets manufactured by Chicago Gaming Company using commercial PC motherboards |
| Ultimate Arcade | product | Line of upright arcade cabinets manufactured by Chicago Gaming Company using commercial PC motherboards; subject of same maintenance procedures as Arcade Legends |
| VAL-M.2 | product | Specific motherboard model referenced in the video title; one of the motherboards used in Arcade Legends/Ultimate Arcade systems |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Hardware maintenance and repair, CMOS battery replacement in arcade cabinets, BIOS configuration and restoration
- **Secondary:** Arcade cabinet hardware architecture, Operator/owner technical support

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0) — Educational/instructional tone; no subjective commentary or opinion. Factual, procedural content focused on technical problem-solving and operator support.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Chicago Gaming Company producing detailed technical educational content for arcade cabinet operators and owners, demonstrating support for aging hardware maintenance and extending system lifespan (confidence: high) — Comprehensive multi-motherboard-specific tutorial with step-by-step disassembly, battery replacement, and BIOS recovery procedures; indicates ongoing commitment to operator education and system support

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## Transcript

[Music] Hi there, this is Butch Peele with Chicago Gaming Company. Commercial computer motherboards were used as the brains or processing units in these Arcade Legends and Ultimate Arcade upright video games. The basic input output system, or BIOS, settings of the motherboards in these computers are used when the system boots up to tell the motherboard how to interact with all of the computer peripherals connected to it: monitors, controllers, disc drives, etc. These BIOS instructions are stored in memory on the motherboard itself. The motherboard is able to remember these settings when the power is off with the help of an onboard lithium battery. Unfortunately, this lithium cell, like all batteries, drains over time. When it gets to the point that it can no longer power the motherboard's memory, the BIOS instructions are lost. Everything basically resets to the motherboard manufacturer's default settings. In short, the Arcade Legends or Ultimate Arcade system tries to boot up but cannot complete the process without its specialized BIOS instructions. We made this video to show you step by step how to replace the motherboard's lithium battery, restore the factory BIOS settings, and get your Arcade Legends or Ultimate Arcade system back up and running again. To complete this job, you'll need a number two Phillips screwdriver, a wired USB keyboard, and a new CR 2032 3-volt lithium battery. Let's get right to it. Before doing anything, power the system down and unplug it from the wall outlet. Next up, locate the two black Phillips head screws that hold the system control panel down. Using a number two Phillips screwdriver, remove both of these screws. Lean the back edge of the control panel toward you as far as possible. A safety chain on the right side will engage. Looking down into the cabinet, locate the two control panel shelf latches—one on the left and one on the right. Completely unlatch both of them. Lift the front of the control panel shelf up a couple of inches, then slowly slide the shelf out of the cabinet. Pay careful attention to the stop blocks left and right mounted at the back of the shelf. Inside the cabinet, the stop block should be in this position when the shelf is fully extended and safely secured. With the shelf in this position, you have easy access to the system IO board, the ATX power supply, and the computer motherboard. Find the motherboard used in your system on this screen. The manufacturer and model of each motherboard is shown in red. Skip forward in this video to the time shown in blue for detailed motherboard-specific battery replacement and BIOS recovery instructions. First up, locate the lithium battery on the motherboard. Gently push the locking tab to the side, then lift the battery up and out of the holder. The battery holder is extremely fragile, so be careful. Reverse these steps to install the new replacement CR 2032 cell in the same orientation as the original battery, with the engraved side facing left. Next thing: get out your USB keyboard. Plug it into one of the unused USB slots on the back of the motherboard. Plug your system back into the wall outlet and power it up. Repeatedly tap the Delete key on your keyboard as the system boots up. This BIOS setup screen should come up on the monitor. Use the right arrow key to move over to the Power tab, then use the down arrow key to move down to APM Configuration. Press Enter to open the APM Configuration submenu. Use the plus or minus key to change the Restore on AC Power Loss setting to Power On. Press the right arrow key once to return to the main Power tab, then press it a few more times to move to the Exit tab. Ensure that Exit and Save Changes is selected, then hit Enter. Pressing the F10 key performs this same function. The system will reboot with the restored settings. Once the system is finished booting, power it down and unplug the USB keyboard from the back of the motherboard, and that's it. Skip ahead in this video to finish up. First up, locate the lithium battery on the motherboard. Gently push the locking tab to the side, then lift the battery up and out of the holder. The battery holder is extremely fragile, so be careful. Reverse these steps to install the new replacement CR 2032 cell in the same orientation as the original battery, with the engraved side facing left. Next thing: get out your USB keyboard. Plug it into one of the unused USB slots on the back of the motherboard. Plug your system back into the wall outlet and power it up. Repeatedly tap the Delete key on your keyboard as the system boots up. This BIOS setup screen should come up on the monitor. Use the right arrow key to move over to the Power tab, then use the down arrow key to move down to APM Configuration. Press Enter to open the APM Configuration submenu. Use the plus or minus key to change the Restore on AC Power Loss setting to Power On. Press the right arrow key once to return to the main Power tab, then press it a few more times to move to the Exit tab. Ensure that Exit and Save Changes is selected, then hit Enter. Pressing the F10 key performs this same function. The system will reboot with the restored settings. Once the system is finished booting, power it down and unplug the USB keyboard from the back of the motherboard, and that's it. Skip ahead in this video to finish up. First up, locate the lithium battery on the motherboard. Gently push the locking tab to the side, then lift the battery up and out of the holder. The battery holder is extremely fragile, so be careful. Reverse these steps to install the new replacement CR 2032 cell in the same orientation as the original battery, with the engraved side facing up. Next thing: get out your USB keyboard. Plug it into one of the unused USB slots on the back of the motherboard. Plug your system back into the wall outlet and power it up. Repeatedly tap the Delete key on your keyboard as the system boots up. This BIOS setup screen should come up on the monitor. Press F7. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Okay button, then press Enter to go into Advanced Mode. Use the right arrow key to move to the Advanced tab, then the down arrow key to highlight the APM submenu. Press the Enter key to open the menu. Use the plus or minus key to change the Restore on AC Power Loss setting to Power On. Press F10 to save the new settings. Ensure that the Yes response is highlighted in the Save Changes and Reset dialogue box, then press the Enter key to exit BIOS setup. The system will reboot with the restored settings. Once the system is finished booting, power it down and unplug the USB keyboard from the back of the motherboard, and that's it. Skip ahead in this video to finish up. First up, locate the lithium battery on the motherboard. Gently push the locking tab to the side, then lift the battery up and out of the holder. The battery holder is extremely fragile, so be careful. Reverse these steps to install the new replacement CR 2032 cell in the same orientation as the original battery, with the engraved side facing up. Next thing: get out your USB keyboard. Unplug the IO board's USB cable from the back of the motherboard, then plug your keyboard into the vacated slot. Plug your system back into the wall outlet and power it up. Repeatedly tap the Delete key on your keyboard as the system boots up. This BIOS setup screen should come up on the monitor. Use the right arrow key to move to the Advanced tab, then the down arrow to move to ACPI Settings Wake Up Event Control. Press the Enter key to open the ACPI Settings Wakeup Event Control submenu. Use the plus or minus key to change the Restore on AC Power Loss setting to Power On. Save and Exit tab. Use the down arrow to highlight Save Changes and Reset, then press Enter. Pressing the F10 key performs this same function. The system will reboot with the restored settings. Once the system is finished booting, power it down and unplug the USB keyboard from the back of the motherboard. Reinstall the IO board's USB cable in its place, and that's it. Now let's get your system all buttoned up and back together. First, we'll lift the front of the control panel shelf, then carefully slide it all the way back into the cabinet. Next, we'll relatch the two control panel shelf latches inside the cabinet—one on the left side and one on the right. Then lower the control panel back into place. Last thing: reinstall the two control panel screws, one on the left. All done! Well, I hope you found this video helpful. Time to challenge someone to a game of Centipede. Have fun, and we'll see you next time!

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: fa32db81-2c60-4f0a-b207-f139faaf2b86*