Laptop not booting and losing time

[pickel]

I have a Sotec 820P that has worked flawlessly for almost two years. The other day ( and yesterday) the battery light came on but didn't start for ten minutes, then finally booted up.( The clock had to be reset on both days.) I called tech support and we figured it was the CMOS battery but he couldn't tell me whre it was. Also he said it was probaly soldered instead of just popped in like a desktop. There are two access panels on the bottom of the computer , also
the keyboard comes where by more RAM ( which I have added 256 Mb ). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


http://www.sotecglobal.com/us/products/?catid=11&subid=100&prodid=1000

http://www.sotecglobal.com/us/products/downloads/notebooks/800/820P/820P-Specs.pdf

 

[Ryoga]

It is unlikely that the CMOS battery is easily accessible. You will, most likely, need to remove the face plate and the keyboard to get to it. You can try opening the access panels, but I doubt you'll find it there. Here's the documentation and user's manual for you system, but looking through it the manual is wholly unhelpful in almost every way possible. A fair warning: opening the case of a laptop generally voids the warranty. If the machine is still under warranty, send it in for repair.

For reference, here's what most CMOS batteries look like:
http://www.hei-sei.com/service/image002.jpg

However, the behavior of your system -- namely, the fact that it took ten minutes of being powered on before it decided to boot -- suggests to me that there is a more serious problem than a dead CMOS battery. Does the system behave differently if you power it up from the AC adapter?

 

[pickel]

Thanks for the reply !The warranty expired last November . I have the "useless" manual. Will have to get a "good" screw driver lest I screw up the hardware. Hopefully , it will be under the keyboard ???
Will post my progress.

P.S. It willnot boot even from the power adapter, that's why I suspect the CMOS battery.

 

[imported_raybay]

There are two small batteries in that unit. You want to look under the keyboard for the larger one with the two or three wires coming out of it. It is available at the larger Radio Shack stores if you have the model number, and it is damned hard to find it elsewhere. Try www.preowned.com or some of the battery sites. Costs $32.

 

[pickel]

It was the CMOS battery..showing .5 Vdc. Radio Shack has a new. Glad that's all it was.