Whenever I upgrade my computers (every year or two), I usually use my old equipment to upgrade my
friends' computers or build a new computer for someone. I almost always install a new battery at the
time as a precaution. Batteries generally last two to four years (or, at least, have in the past - they
may last longer now), and if they go bad, you lose your CMOS settings, usually gradually, which can cause
strange effects. Since I generally have to change these settings anyway when upgrading, their loss is no
problem. This saves my friends (and me) a hassle for a while.
I doubt seriously that you lost your flash BIOS by simply changing your battery. Flash memory is a form
of eeprom, which does not require power to be continuously applied. You surely did something else. If
you took your battery out, then you probably lost your CMOS settings, which could cause you a bit of
grief. I am not an expert on ALL computers, so, of course, your battery may have been essential for
yours.
I disagree with your general advice to never remove the battery. As you see from the above, if your
computer is three years old and you are making some changes inside, then I think it may very well be a
good idea to change the battery while you are at it.
Dean Kukral
----- Original Message -----
From: alan smith
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 10:44 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] BIOS
I want to thank all those who gave me ideas for solving my bios problem.
I want to make one strong point first. NEVER remove that #2032 battery!!
You will end up with a BLANK BIOS CHIP!!!!!!!
Now, this is what happened. I wanted to learn about XANDROS (friendly
Linux/Unix ) so I bought a refurbished DELL Optiplex GX200. I had used it
with Win2Kpro for 3 months because my main computer had packed it in.
After I got it working, I decided to install Xandros. Then I added an extra
hard drive. Then I went into SETUP to see if it would recognize the drive.
HD0 was OK, I set HD1 to auto and CDrom was ok. Then I went into
BOOT sequence and it had gone to "floppy" enable/disable !!! AND I can't change it.Removing the battery
killed the bios !!!!!
Then I bought an Optiplex GX110 ! I installed 2 drives, an audio board and
a 2 USB port board, and when I checked the boot sequence, it was already
in "floppy" mode. And neither computer will start up!!!
Does anyone know where I can download the flash program that will fit
on a floppy that will correct the problem????
I'm not familiar with DOS, but I have their startup disk on a floppy, and 98
and the 4- 2k startup disks.
Many thanks to all those who gave me tips and ideas. AL SMITH Toronto.
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