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Bios Battery??

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Oct 2, 2000
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My mouse and keyboard keep freezing and my top keeps setting to the year 2031. Someone told me to change the bios battery. How do I know what kind of battery to get? Does this sound like the right thing to do? thanks.
 
That situation might sound like a whole motherboard going bad.

When just the motherboard's battery goes bad, that will not affect anything while the machine is running. What you'll see instead is everytime the machine is turned off then turned on again, the date is reset to the default date, and that is the earliest one the bios can handle. Used to be the default date was Jan 1, 1981; but nowadays it's different, and maybe somewhere in 2000?

But for the date to _advance_, that's not the typical characteristics of a dead battery, and with keyboard & mouse freezing on you, these may be signs of a bigger problem.
 
Yo Sierrapeac;
First of all dakota81 might be right that it's a sign of a bigger problem but before we make it an option, have you tried going to the website of the motherboard and downloading an updated version of your bios. In some cases the manufacturer would issue updates to patch up problems consumers encounter after they release the motherboard, but make sure to back-up your old bios. Hanging problems can be also due to overheating and memory defects or memory incompatibility. Please tell us the specs of your unit.


 
Just to clarify, There is a sign of low battery, Similar to a real clock, You'll slowly notice your time changing and getting farther and farther behind.

I've never heard of it going into the future tho.



~Shmoes

I lay claim to nothing and everything. My words may be wisdom or disaster. In the end you make a choice. Noone is perfect.
 
Some clocks do default to later dates. I have several that default to 2070.

The battery in later machines are nickel size flat lithium cells. You have to look on your M/B for it. They pop out of their holder fairly easy and the replacement slides in.

For the price of a replacement, around $2.00, you can answer whether you have other problems.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
 
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