bios in old computer

[rookie1010]

Hi
I have got an old computer(4 years old) and i was concerned about its CMOS. I mean the battery is gonan run out,isn't it.

What steps should i take? is there any way to know how much juice is present in the battery? is there a way i can replace the battery without upsetting the BIOS.

 

[hercules_upw]

I just built a computer for my parents. Their computer was 7 years old, and the battery is still good in it. Well, it still retains system clock settings and BIOS settings. As a matter of fact, it still functions to this day.

As for replacing your old computer's battery, i would go into the BIOS and manually write the settings down, replace the battery, the reset the BIOS to the specs that you wrote down before replacing the battery. There's probably a better/easier way to do it but that's how i would do it in my own system.

 

[rookie1010]

i was concerned that when my battery runs out, and i replace the battery, i will not be able to start up my computer since the BIOS would have gone.

the BIOS would still be there, after the battery runs out right, it just needs a power source to get it going right?

 

[hercules_upw]

I understand it like this: The BIOS is a program that is written into a memory module that does not require power. However, when you adjust something, such as the drive boot order, the settings are held on a memory module that DOES require power to remain in place. That is where the battery comes in. If you remove the battery, only those settings will be lost. The BIOS will return to it's default parameters.

The BIOS should not go anywhere if you need to replace the battery. At least this is the way it is on my motherboard.

 

[becroydon]

ok the best way to tell if your battery is failing is the time on the taskbar, believe it or not this is powered by the same battery. If you find this keep becoming slow or fast you need to get a new battery, once you remove the original battery i think its 10mins before the bios chip and cmos chip loses its charge and returns to its original settings. Although in the event of this happening you will not lose any data in your hard disk only the boot priority and any overclocking you have done the the cpu.

 

[rookie1010]

i thoguth the bios chip and the cmos were the same, the bios chip was essentially a flash memory device which used CMOS technology.


so the boot priority and over clocking stuff gets stored in BIOS then.
is this stuff stored in some sort of RAM which needs to be refreshed, that is why it needs power.

if it is part of the flash (CMOS tech) chip then even the settings should be saved and should not require any power.