replaceing the battery for the clock on the computer

[Guest]

could you please tell me if i can replace the battery with out going into the
bios

 

[Bob I]

No, you have to open the computer case. You MAY have to go into BIOS
afterwards to adjust any settings. For particulars please visit the web
site of your motherboard manufacturer, this issue is not resolved by
Windows XP settings.

 

[smlunatick]

could you please tell me if i can replace the battery with out going into the
bios

A battery is a "physical" piece located on the motherboard. It is
used to keep the BIOS settings when the PC is powered off. If you
remove the battery, the BIOS is more than likely to revert to "BIOS"
defaults, which may not correspond to your current settings.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

A battery is a "physical" piece located on the motherboard.
It is used to keep the BIOS settings when the PC is
powered off. If you remove the battery, the BIOS is more
than likely to revert to "BIOS" defaults, which may not
correspond to your current settings.

It's standard precaution to note all the BIOS settings
before replacing the lithium battery in the motherboard,
but there seems to be a capacitor that will retain the
settings for a few minutes (if not hours). I've replaced
my lithium battery several times (sometimes only for
cleaning off the oxide), and all the settings - default and
non-default - have persisted.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

could you please tell me if i can replace the battery with out going into the
bios

When you remove the battery, the current setup information is kept for
short time in the BIOS before it is lost. If you replace the battery
quickly enough, you may not lose anything.

How long is "a short time" and "quickly enough"? Unfortunately it
depends and there's no universally correct answer. *Usually* you have
fifteen minutes or so. I've occasionally machines where the BIOS
settings lasted for several hours without a battery.

Since you can't predict in advance how long you have, it's prudent to
make a hard-copy record of all the settings before you remove the
battery, just in case. In fact, I think it's prudent to always have
such a record, even if you aren't planning on replacing the battery.

 

[HeyBub]

A battery is a "physical" piece located on the motherboard. It is
used to keep the BIOS settings when the PC is powered off. If you
remove the battery, the BIOS is more than likely to revert to "BIOS"
defaults, which may not correspond to your current settings.

Slight correction: "... when the PC is UNPLUGGED ..."

If you leave the PC plugged into the mains, you should be able to replace
the battery without losing any of the BIOS settings.

On some motherboards.

Some of the time.

 

[Tony Meloche]

Slight correction: "... when the PC is UNPLUGGED ..."

If you leave the PC plugged into the mains, you should be able to replace
the battery without losing any of the BIOS settings.

On some motherboards.

Some of the time.

That's exactly what I've done with every computer I've owned - no
problems at all. But as you say, there is a "some" component I probably
should know more about - maybe others will give more insight on this.

Tony