m1530 or any dell - Can you please check your bios for...

Hello, so I still have this cmos problem with my m1530 where I think the battery might have died in only 2 years. I ignored it for a while and I just noticed the other day that the time in my bios does not move. I think I remember the time in the bios actively moving in the past, like you could literally see the seconds tick. Alas, my m1530 time is frozen in the bios. If indeed it is supposed to be moving, is there any reason for me not to conclude that the cmos battery is dead? In which case, I would have a TON of dismantling to do to get to that battery. Ugh, before it was dismantling to address overheating problems and now this...

Thanks for the help.

 

Yes, the bios seconds tick.

Now, let me tell you why I believe your problem is not a cmos battery issue. The battery acts as a 3rd backup. First, your bios will keep correct time if it's plugged in. Second is your actual 6 cell or 9 cell battery. Then if all these are removed for a period of time, your cmos battery will hold your settings. I know this because I had a mobo replacement that would not hold the time or the bios settings when I removed my 6 cell battery and I was unplugged from the wall. Otherwise my bios settings and time would be fine.

Also, when I told dell about it they seemed to believe that it required a whole mobo replacement (again) instead of just checking the CMOS battery, which leads me to believe that there is a possibility the cmos battery isn't removable/replaceable . But I'd find that pretty wierd.

 

Omg, you think I need a whole mobo replacement? I usually operate plugged in the wall and while my 6 cell battery has degraded a little, it still works. I know the cmos battery is in fact replaceable, but its literally the last thing you reach, meaning smithereens for your LT. Maybe they just figure they might as well replace the whole mobo at that point?

My time was working fine and then, under normal use (nothing even intensive like gaming) I noticed the time stops working. What could have caused the mobo to fault?

 

It's very possible that they consider replacing the cmos battery as opposed to the mobo a waste of time.

The problem your having though sounds like a mobo issue, and not a cmos battery issue. Admittedly changing the battery is going to be cheaper, but like I said, the battery alone shouldn't effect the bios. Have you tried flashing the bios anytime recently?

 

My bios is completely up to date. Relatively, that means its on the latest bios version A12 which was released late 2008. I tried flashing a fresh A12 over itself but that didnt work. I think just resetting the cmos, not replacing the battery (I can check it with a multimeter), may fix my problem. Of course, that still means dismantling my LT down to nothing. I might do it tomorrow morning if I am feeling brave. If even that doesnt fix it, then its a motherboard flaw, which is more of a headache since my warranty has expired...hope a cmos reset works...