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Is my bios battery dead?

M

mjrand

Senior member
Yesterday while using my computer, it started acting up/going really slowly. I restarted it for the first time in about 4 weeks and that's when the problems started coming up.

Symptoms:
- at bootup bios key isn't working to enter bios
- 75% of the time the computer restarts itself repeatedly right before the OS loads
- sound card and network card installed/uninstalled themselves a few times
- sound card still doesn't work even though device manager/windows reports no problems
- able to startup into safe mode without any problem
- a few times right before the OS bootup, a blue screen popped up for a split second giving an error. Couldn't actually read the whole thing as it flew right by and Pause key didnt work on it but I did see the word BIOS in the middle of it
- in device manager "PnP Bios Extension" had an exclamation point on it

Is my bios battery dead? Is there a way to physcially check this if so? Anything else it could be?

Thanks
 
NO! The bios battery is not even in question with all your problems. You probably have a virus tha's time activated and it just now activated. Check for virus and then if the results is negative. Re-install OS. If the same problem exist, check make sure the mobo is not full of dust causing shorts within the mobo. Re-insert all add in card because change in ambient temps may have loosen them up.
 
Originally posted by: Jiggz
NO! The bios battery is not even in question with all your problems. You probably have a virus tha's time activated and it just now activated. Check for virus and then if the results is negative. Re-install OS. If the same problem exist, check make sure the mobo is not full of dust causing shorts within the mobo. Re-insert all add in card because change in ambient temps may have loosen them up.
Click to expand...

I know I came here looking for advice from others, and I'm not trying to be mean, but your answer is about the worst one I've seen on anandtech and I've been here well over 5 years. If you have no real knowledge on a topic, please don't pretend like you do. My symptoms have nothing to do with a virus. The symptoms I described fit exactly with a dead bios battery. (can't get to bios menu, bios error is windows, certain hardware not being recognized)
 
mjrand...lighten up. I think he just might be right, but even if not, he's done his honest best to help you. Why not change the battery anyway, just to rule it out? It should be a 2032 lithium cell, and is a very simple procedure.
 
I doubt it's the battery, but that is cheap and simple to replace.

The POST usually stops with a message about the CMOS settings being changed or a checksum error with a bad BIOS battery. Your clock will also be way off or have reset.

Even if you took the battery out, you would not have the problems you describe, imo.
 
lenjack, I appreciate advice even if it's not always correct, but telling me with absolute certainty that its not the BIOS battery is just ridiculous. I plan to replace the battery. Just wanted to know if others had experienced similar symptoms when their batteries died.

LTC8K6, the comp does stop right before loading the OS. It comes up with a blue screen, which quickly disappears and the computer restarts itself over again and the same thing happens again. As I mentioned in my original post, I did quickly see the word BIOS in the middle of the blue screen error message. Also if it's not the battery, why am I unable to get into my BIOS right as I turn the computer on, before anything else has loaded yet?

Do you have any other advice as to what could be the problem if it's not the battery?

Thanks
 
Typically it will stop very early in the POST if the CMOS is not holding it's settings. It will stop completely and give you that "Press F1 to continue....." line.

Well, I have seen computers with bad BIOS batteries and I have even run them without batteries.

I was always able to get into the BIOS. The changes did not keep, but I had no trouble getting in and no trouble with the OS.

To ease your mind, why not just change the battery? Once you have done that, then we will know for sure and we can move on to what else might be going on if we need to.

The fact that you can get into safe mode without trouble almost eliminates any major hardware problems, imo.

Make sure everything is seated well and connected well. The cards, the ram, the CPU, the cables, etc.
You might even press on the BIOS chip to make sure it is securely in it's socket.

You could even try clearing the CMOS to see if that helps out any.
 
I have to agree with Jiggs that it definitely is not the battery. He could be right about a virus, but my money would be on flakiness of another board level component. I would start, however, with memtest86, since that is easier to check and all your symptoms could be attributed to bad RAM.
 
Thank you for the informative reply LTC8K6 (What does that stand for anyways? 🙂)

Until you posted I had forgotten that a few days ago I wacked a 15LB weight into my case and heard some weird noises for a few seconds so it very well could be that one of the parts might not be seated well anymore. If after I check and everything is seated correctly and I still cannot get into my BIOS I suppose I will try to replace the BIOS battery. I appreciate your advice.

Thank you very much for the help!
 
Hi, If your clock is wrong when you boot after seveal hours of being off then your BIOS/Clock battery is on it's last legs. In a few days the BIOS will need reseting as the battery will now be dead. Your symtoms have nothing to do with the battery!!!
 
Originally posted by: JimPhelpsMI
Hi, If your clock is wrong when you boot after seveal hours of being off then your BIOS/Clock battery is on it's last legs. In a few days the BIOS will need reseting as the battery will now be dead. Your symtoms have nothing to do with the battery!!!
Click to expand...

OP really wants to believe his battery is causing these problems!
 
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