Informaion in CBOS before switching CBOS battery

[Guest]

Hello

I'm in the middle of changing my CBOS battery, because my desktop clock
isn't working properly. But I've read that I should write down some
information from the system BIOS settings first.
What exactly should I write down? Are there just a few things that I have to
write down, or do I have to go through every single menu and write everything
down?

Thankful for help / Oscar

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hello

I'm in the middle of changing my CBOS battery,

That's CMOS.

because my desktop
clock isn't working properly.

That does *not* mean that you need to change the battery.

Before anyone whose clock is running slow rushes out to buy a new battery,
he should first take note of whether he is losing time while the computer is
running or while it's powered off. If it's while powered off, the problem
*is* very likely the battery. But if it's while running, it can *not* be the
battery, because the battery isn't used while the computer is running.

If the clock loses time while running, try this:

Open a command prompt window (Start | Run | cmd) and enter the following
commands:

net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /register
net start w32time

But I've read that I should write down
some information from the system BIOS settings first.
What exactly should I write down? Are there just a few things that I
have to write down, or do I have to go through every single menu and
write everything down?

Others will no doubt disagree, but my view is that the safest thing to do is
have *all* the settings written down. You probably will never need them all,
but it only takes a few minutes to write everything down, and thaht's what I
do--not when the battery fails, but when I first get the computer--because
you never know when the battery may fail.

 

[JS]

You should write down the setting on each and every menu/submenu, if nothing
else you will get to know what setting are available.
Note: when you are done documenting the settings make certain you choose the
'Exit without saving any changes' option.
Some BIOS's have the option to save their current settings to a file, which
is an easy way to later use this file to restore settings.
There also may be a software utility out there somewhere (haven't used one
in a long time) that can save and then later restore the BIOS settings.

If you change the battery within about 10 seconds or less there is a good
chance you may not lose the current settings, so an inspection of how to
remove the battery and replace it quickly before you actually make the
change may help. Note: have the replacement/new battery placed in a location
where you can quickly grab and install it. As always read the user's manual.

JS

 

[Guest]

Thank you, I think it's the battery because the clock isn't working properly
while the computer is off. Besides the computer is almost 6 years old so the
battery may need to change.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, will try that when I've got time

You should write down the setting on each and every menu/submenu, if nothing
else you will get to know what setting are available.
Note: when you are done documenting the settings make certain you choose the
'Exit without saving any changes' option.
Some BIOS's have the option to save their current settings to a file, which
is an easy way to later use this file to restore settings.
There also may be a software utility out there somewhere (haven't used one
in a long time) that can save and then later restore the BIOS settings.

If you change the battery within about 10 seconds or less there is a good
chance you may not lose the current settings, so an inspection of how to
remove the battery and replace it quickly before you actually make the
change may help. Note: have the replacement/new battery placed in a location
where you can quickly grab and install it. As always read the user's manual.

JS

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

You should write down the setting on each and every menu/submenu, if
nothing else you will get to know what setting are available.
Note: when you are done documenting the settings make certain you
choose the 'Exit without saving any changes' option.
Some BIOS's have the option to save their current settings to a file,
which is an easy way to later use this file to restore settings.
There also may be a software utility out there somewhere (haven't
used one in a long time) that can save and then later restore the
BIOS settings.
If you change the battery within about 10 seconds or less there is a
good chance you may not lose the current settings,

I've found that how long you go can go without losing the settings varies
substantially with the particular computer. I've seen much longer times than
ten second--over an hour in one case.

But it's wise not to rely on that, to assume that the time is very short,
and get the new battery in as fast as possible.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you, I think it's the battery because the clock isn't working
properly while the computer is off.

Yes, then it's almost certainly the battery. Replace ity.

 

[JS]

Yes they do vary, which is why I used this value. In practice I can do any
of my pc's in less then 10 seconds.
But I look carefully to see what it will take to pop out the old one and how
best to insert the new battery.

JS