[vox-tech] CMOS problems, dead battery?

[ME]

Sorry, I have been working on other things, and do not seem to have this
thread save anymore. :-/

Could you repost your CMOS errors? (Or just forward the original problem
to me again.)

I seem to recall some other ones that are/were possible and suggested
include a bad PROM, EPROM, EEPROM. Chip-rising was rather eliminated (but
can still be checked if you want - just try to see if you can push the
present chips into their sockets (with a firm support under the mb) and if
they seem to move a great distance, there is a possible thing.) (Again,
not so comon to modern boards any more.

If you have an option to upgrade your flash/BIOS from software, his is one
route you can take. (Dell offers their updates via download and sometimes
may produce 10-20 upgrades for BIOS/Firmware over the course of 2-3
years.)

Another item, was reported by another user who found an error message with
a CPU "gone missing" during post, was to enter into the BIOS make some
changes, and then change htem back and choose "Save Changes" when they
exit their BIOS. A new CRC was computed for the data stored in flash to
eliminate the error message.

I'd want to see the original problem again. It might give me more
ideas. (Sorry about the delay - had a headache yesterday.)

Thanks!
-ME

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     Systems Department Operating Systems Analyst for the SSU Library

On Fri, 26 Apr 2002, Ryan wrote:
> On Tuesday 23 April 2002 05:16 pm, ME wrote:
> > On Tue, 23 Apr 2002, Ryan wrote:
> > > On Tuesday 23 April 2002 04:30 pm, ME wrote:
> > > How long should a battery last?
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > To the answer... from 3 to 8 years seems common. (I have seen more and
> > less, but this range covers most machines.) 5 Years is a safe bet for most
> > machines before replacement is needed. Less than 5 years, you may want to
> > check to see if there is a short in you mb somewhere that could drain the
> > clock. (High resistance short for slower drain for example.)
> 
> That's what I thought.
> 
> > Hook up a voltmeter/ammeter to the battery and see how "alive" it is. That
> > is one way to test the battery and try to rule it "out" or "in".
> 
> Oh f***, the battery IS fine, which means something worse is wrong.
> 
> What would be the next thing to try?