OK, I know I should know this, but old age continues to creep forward......
A Dell computer has a dead bios battery.
The manual says it's a Lithium CR2032. Is there any reason not to use one from one of the Poundland sets of 8 button cells as opposed to the ones for Dell on Amazon for ?2.99 + postage?
I have some memory from the distant past of having to use a rechargeable battery.
It would be OT in uk.comp.homebuilt! I would think you would be OK, I imagine that you might loose some bios settings when you take the battery out. Google is a good source of info for your question.
I'd say you'd be fine and I have used the Pound shop / market cells many times myself to good effect.
Yes, they were often 3.6v NiCd CMOS batteries and were generally soldered on (commonly Varta brand).
Whilst there is a button cell the same size that is rechargeable (LiR2032 etc) it's not 3 but 3.6V and would probably have a higher self-discharge rate than a primary cell in any case (and wouldn't be recharged in the Dell etc).
The only time I *might* be bothered to look for a quality branded cell (in the hope that it was actually 'better' than the Pound shop ones) was if the machine in question was going to be left unpowered for long periods, the battery was difficult to access, the role critical or the user unable to change the battery themselves in the future.
Cheers, T i m
If the battery is named and numbered you can use any battery with that name and number . Usually the Poundland batteries are not brilliant and so don't last very long however in the VERY low drain case of a computer this shouldn't be a problem. Remember too that if Poundland is selling batteries 8 for £1.99 and you don't have a use for the other seven you are not actually saving any money.
What you have to watch for are batteries that are soldered in place but as the battery is numbered this is unlikely to be the case.
What can happen is that manufacturers put normal cells into some sort of proprietary casing and so you have to buy their batteries but again as it is numbered in the 'instructions' this is unlikely to be the case .
You will lose all data manually inputted into the BIOS (more correctly the CMOS; time/date, BIOS password (if set) , this is a fairly common method for getting into systems with a BIOS password (not the same as an O/S password). Sometimes there is a clear CMOS button but if the motherboard doesn't have one removing the battery clears ALL data from the CMOS .
Oops £2.99 (plus two lots of bus fares or petrol money if that is all you are going for)
Erm, in a *Pound* shop? 8 cells for £1, with maybe 2 of each size.
There is that. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Yup! Not sure if they should be done for false advertising but a lot of the stuff in "Pound" shops is more than a pound
Well here anyway (Edinburgh Scotland),
And a lot more at a pound (or 99p etc) or even 2 (or more) for a pound, particularly batteries. ;-)
I think those cards of button cells have only ever been a pound down here in Lundun .
Cheers, T i m
I did mine with the desktop computer switched on.......no loss
not if you keep the computer switched on...
Some of it is less than a pound as well.
As a diversion to the thread, my HP has never had a BIOS battery replacement. Will it have such a battery and Is there an argument for replacing it preventively?
Well, I'm not aaware of any bios batteries being rechargeable or if they were supposed to be then they weren't as they seem all to go flat at the most inopportune moment. I now keep at least one spare in a drawer. Brian
Actually losing bios settings is often the first symptom of flat-ness. Luckily may do default to something sensible though you can find the fan speed adjuster is shot when its flat and it either runs like an express train or does not run hardly at all and then suddenly goes berserk or shuts the computer down due to overheating. A real pain in some Compaq/HP models. Brian
Your a braver man than me McDuff.
It will almost certainly have one.
1) They can last up to ten years, although it will vary depending on use. 2) When it becomes discharged, you will lose the BIOS settings. 3) When you change it (even if not discharged) you will lose the BIOS settings.So, you might as well wait!
(sometimes you don't lose the settings if you are quick about changing it)
the battery backed RAM was replaced by FLASH RAM pretty much as soon as that technology became available.
Not sure exactly when, but early millennium at the latest.
same thing
NT
Bill expressed precisely :
No reason at all, the CR2032 is just a none rechargeable battery. My desktop's BIOS 2032 battery failed on Friday, I used a Poundland one.
Michael Chare expressed precisely :
If there is access and you are careful, you can do the swap with the PC running.
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