[sr71000]

you can mix optical and hard drives on the same cable just fine! The fact that you're having to clear the cmos every time sounds like a mobo issue to me! Try replacing the cmos battery first though (maybe it is weak and because of power issues it's corrupting the bios?) It's a stretch but worth a shot i guess! For a few bucks, why not! After that..i'd be calling newegg for an rma!