OMG - Cmos battery dead?

In all my years of building and using computers I have never actually experienced an actual case of the cmos battery running out. However, I think my awesome m1530 has shown me everything now. Here is the case:

Fresh windows 7 install - Windows 7 time is correct - Shut down - Boot up - The time is the exact time I shut down.

Is there anything this could be besides a dead cmos battery? I bought my LT brand new directly from Dell about 2-3 years ago, which is a ridiculously short life for a cmos battery. I have to dismantle my LT to bits in order to replace this battery. Anyway, having the wrong time makes a mess of windows, I really need some advice here.

Can it be something other than the cmos battery and what should I do?

 

Try a BIOS update.

 

I am already on A12, which I believe is the most current bios.

 

Leave the notebook on (not just plugged in, fully on) for an hour and see if that charges the battery.

If not then you might want to test it with a DMM.

 

Im not sure what you mean by leave it on for an hour. Its on 12 hrs a day via the outlet. Is that what you mean? What does "fully on" mean?

Also, how would I test the CMOS battery with a DMM without dismantling the laptop, because just getting to the battery means dismantling the laptop, at which point I would just replace the battery.

 

Hmm... I don't think this is a battery problem. In my experience with Dells, if the CMOS battery dies, the time will reset to when the laptop was made, not the time at which the machine was when it shut down. I guess they could be doing it differently now... but I somehow doubt it.

 

Yes that is what I meant.

Ok, I see. Maybe you should still test the battery before you pay for a new one. It should be around 3V when charged.

I was thinking the same thing.

It's a stange problem. It might be worth backing up the HDD and re-installing windows.

Maybe also try taking out the battery and power cord, then hold the power button for 1 min. Then put the battery and power cord back and test the notebook.

 

Any idea of things I could try? I already did a fresh install of windows 7 and did a complete discharge on the machine and those didnt help. The time worked fine for the first couple months of windows 7, and now its all over the place. Even when the computer is on and hasnt been shut down it loses track.

 

CMOS battery usually lasts for an average of 5 years. The time and date will be erratic and then the computer will start freezing and sometimes shuts down and restarts. This was happening on my desktop. Also the BIOS time and date will be reseted to it's original manufacture setting. Sync your time with 'time.windows.com'

 

Unlikely to be the CMOS battery if the system is not resetting the time back to motherboard default. As they are fairly cheap (usually CR2032) batteries, pick up a replacement and install it. If it solves the problem I will be amazed lol.

 

I have done the time syncing and tried it with every server, the time still gets lost. My computer time starts to fall days behind. I cant simply change the cmos battery and eliminate that variable because I would have to take my laptop completely apart. I am comfortable opening it and dismantling only so far, but to go all the way for a cmos battery when no on thinks thats the issue seems not worth the risk.

So if its not cmos, then what is it?

 

What's the time in the computer's BIOS? Is it also off?

Try setting the system time inside the BIOS to see if it fixes the problem.

 

I keep resetting the time in the system bios back to the correct time but that doesnt work. The reason I thought it was cmos is because the time fine until I shutdown. I shut down at a time x and the next morning it boots up at that exact time.

 

I've had this exact same problem on my Dell Studio 15 (1535) since yesterday, it's been driving me mad, but glad I'm not alone now.

 

If you ever come across a solution or the culprit to the problem, do post it here. I will do the same. In the mean time, what time is it?

 

Well, I dismantled my entire laptop down to the last piece, took out the cmos battery and reset the bios that way, and it worked. Time works fine now, it just took a couple hours. At least it was fun dismantling the entire thing...popped my laptop cherry.