Re: battery

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance



"Twayne" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ekNajrrOJHA.4480@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"S" <virgin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ZR3Ok.9404$P91.4850@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Slightly off topic.

Trying to sort a PC with xp on it, it wont let me boot up and gave
an error message now it doesn`t even got that far and just freezes
at the first screen when booting so cant use another disc for
repair.
A few years back I had a problem booting and it turned out it was
the internal battery so I took the one out the pc and its a 3 v but
registers 2.4v on a voltmeter, this is against a new one I have
that shows 3.2v . I am going back to friends at the weekend to try
new battery but just wondering if anyone knows if the old one has
enough charge to boot at 2.4v. its probably been in the tower for
4 years or so.

2.4V is too low so it does appear the battery is ready to replace.
One thing a low battery can do is scramble CMOS RAM and thus could
well be the culprit. Especially if the voltage is right at the
threshold of being able to support RAM, which was probably a tenth
of a volt or so earlier. IIRC 2.7V is the min for the battery voltage
(-10%).

Since it's quick and reasonably fast to do, I'd start with the
battery. Details: Even connected 2.4V is too low, but I want to
point out
you cannot compare voltages between a connected and a not connected
battery. At the last battery change I made, the battery measured
3.21V outside and when installed read 2.94V. Completeley normal.

If the battery doesn't seem like a fix right away, remember, your
CMOS RAM could be scrambled. During the first startup, go into the
CMOS/System RAM settings and look for a "default" choice or if you
have it, a "saved" setting and reload it. Not all BIOS's will allow
you to save settings for recall, so ... it it's not there, don't
worry about it; look for default instead. Default will at least let
you get booted up. IF it then boots but something isn't quite
right, there may be some settings that need adjustment. If nothing
changed, then it probably wan't the battery, but ... if your 2.4V is
accurate, I'm betting on the battery and scrambled RAM.

Let us know, even if the new battery doesn't help anything.

Twayne



thanks

That problem isn't likely to be the battery. The system does not
boot from the battery.

The battery should just cause you problems with having to go into
Setup to recognise hardware and set the date/time on power-up, and
then restart into XP.

What is the error message? That is a rather important piece of
information.

HTH

-pk

This is the error message...........
Friends PC wont boot to desktop and keep getting error
message.........
unmountable-boot-volume.
Stop: 0x000000 (0x82796818,0x0000032,0x00000000,0x00000000.

I tried to boot in safe mode to try and do a system restore but keeps
throwing up the same message, I tried the other modes prompt etc but
to no avail.

If you can make it that far inthe boot process, then you are well past
the end of the POST, which is the point at which you press the key to
access your CMOS/System RAM. You MUST press the correct access key
immediately after the POST, and the second you see hte message on the
screen that says press ... for system settings or something similar.
I repeat: If you can get to the point where you can ask for Safe
Mode, etc, or anything ot do with it, you have gone PAST the point in
time where you could have pressed the access key to go into your CMOS
settings. If you don't know what key that is, or the screen goes by too
fast, check on your vendor's site - they will have the info. What the
key is depends on whose BIOS you have in the machine.


Now when I try and boot it doesn`t even get as far as the error
message it just freezes so I cant access anything....bios, safe mode
etc.

EXACTLY what sounds, screens, etc, do you see just before it "freezes"?

Almost sounds like a reinstall is going to be your only option. If you
have your paperwork, there IS a slight possibility there might be a
jumper or tiny button on the motherboard that you can press to "reset"
your system settings. Or you could check at your vendor's site for that
info on your model.

I understand what you're saying, but ... are you CERTAIN you can't get
to the CMOS/System settings? You press the key for it (often F2 and it
should show briefly on the first screen you see). The time to do that
is immediately after the POST and before any furhter processing can
occur. The CMOS/System settings being read do NOT come into play until
AFTER that point in the boot process.
Just watch the screen as you try to boot and the second you see a
message, press the key. This is BEFORE the point where you'd press F8
to get at Safe Mode, etc., and immediately after the POST completes and
gives one short beep.
Do you know for sure which key is to access the CMOS ram settings?

If that's not available to you, then it's about 99.99% certain that you
have a serious hardware problem, I'd say since no software has run yet
at that point, not even a read of the CMOS settings so you're looking at
hardware failure.

How many beeps do you get from the system speaker when it starts to
beep? None? Listen carefully for it; it signals the end of the Power On
Self Test (POST). There should only be one short beep. If you're
getting none or more than that, then you definitely have hardware
problems. Time to dig inside or take it to a neighborhood shop. IMO
avoid the big box stores for computer repair.


HTH




.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Fast Start-up
    ... If you can keep the RAM live, then why can't you just suspend? ... like a car battery, and nobody wants your device to accidentally drain that ... Faster processors generally boot faster. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.embedded)
  • Re: DELL 2400 P4 (AO5)
    ... Sounds like it is losing its settings. ... weird reason, when I USED TO click F!, it would boot, Now after F!, ... MY USB out-side-the case SATA DRIVE was on!! ... After replacing the C2032 3v lithium battery, check the BIOS boot order and make sure that USB devices are pretty low on the list... ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • Re: CPU usage suddenly up to 100%
    ... boot a few days ago that I mentioned in an earlier posting. ... It's an Asus X51R with 1 GB RAM running Vista home edition ... what process is eating all of that CPU power. ... asside for a day with the battery removed. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Re: Boot up problems
    ... The system defaults to safe values so the computer can boot. ... you have to go into the bios and set everything right, ... settings in the CMOS setup and remeber to save before ... >battery for your motherboard:(Donīt worry itīs not ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: TECH: Eight Ball Champ Sound Issue
    ... The other RAM gets cleared out on bootup..... ... some games used the backup ram for scoring and stuff too, so the scores stay from boot to boot, but they clearout the 6810 too (which is not battery backed) ... I can check my S&T machines when I get home today to see if this chip is missing from any of them although I don't have an EBC to check. ...
    (rec.games.pinball)