Losin TIME!

[HulaMike]

Yo bruddas n sistas.

My old P II, WIN98 computer is loosing a minute a day on the clock. Just started this week. This can't be good. Is it a warning of an impending dump???

[Keith Cocker]

Mike,

It's a while since I had this (and W98) but I seem to remember it as a sign that your CMOS battery (the little battery on the Motherboard) is needing replacing. :)

[HulaMike]

What happens if I do nothing? Does the battery do anything else but keep the clock running? Is this user replaceable? I know. Probably depends on the motherboard, right?

[arista]

Sounds to me lie the CMOS as well. Not sure what your level of PC experience is, so here are soem tips.

BEFORE you replace it, make a note os the BIOS settings. (Usually press 'Delelte" during startup, go through the options and note the settings. Write them down. OR if you have the option, you can save them to floppy on some systems, do this if possible.

Change the CMOS battery, and fire up, if it works, great, if not, go back into the BIOS, as above and restore your settings.

You ARE going to lose them once the battery is removed.

Hope this helps, cheers :beerchug:

Tony.

[HulaMike]

thanks Tony. Don't know if I'd recognize the battery but it looks like I'll have to learn. If the battery dies what happens? Is it catastrophic?

[Igor]

Every time you start up BIOS will load defaults. Pretty boring...

[Swampy]

Mike,

Can't miss it. Look for a silver 1" diameter watch battery (in most cases). Simple replacement really.

If you don't want to lose your settings, you could change the battery with the power on. :guzzle:

Not your level though probably. ;)

[easternherp]

A coleague of mine had a similar problem and changed the battery but it did no good. He was told that the motherboard could be on the way out.
As a Mac user I can't say how the pc battery works but on a mac the battery just keeps the main PRAM settings, ie clock time and display settings etc. when the computer is turned off. When the MAC is running then the battery is not used.
Sounds like you might need to look at backing everything up and upgrading your system.

[robinp]

Mike if the new battery doesn't fix it start backing up anything important on that machine and be very pleased every time it boots up.
We are now in the 21st century, any computer running W98 or using a PII needs retiring. :)
Washing machines, fridges, televisions etc can be expected to last 6-7 years but the useful life for a computer now is about 3 years. The compensation for this is that in terms of what you get for your money they are very cheap.


Cheers, Robin