Hi all. I just bought an inspiron 8500 from a co-worker. Great deal 'cause the battery is toast and is missing a shift key. It has a cpu of 2.4 GHz but only ever runs on 1.2. I know this computer changes speed as needed but BIOS says the current speed is 1.2 always. Is there a way to get it to 2.4? Does it have to do with the dead battery? Also, I can't install the Bios update from the Dell site because the laptop doesn't think the battery is there, because it's dead. Any help would be great. I know i do need a battery, however.