Sorry, me again - beep warnings and BIOS stall on Deskpro EN

I'm hoping this is going to be simple because the machine is otherwise
working fine with the exception of the floppy drive, but my Deskpro
SFF 886 mhz seems to have some kind of problem which I'm hoping is not
related to a dying battery. The first time I switch it on - to recap
it's (at least nominally) refurbished - some beeps happen and some
kind of message that says either the system configuration has changed
or the internal clock is playing up; I can see the clock isn't losing
time so hopefully that's a good sign. I'm prompted to use F10 and
save settings, then the machine is fine for ages, till I next turn it
on. I expected this to happen one more time when I swapped a CD drive
for a DVD drive. Something tells me the company I bought it from
isn't going to be very co-operative if I approach them, though I will
try if I can't sort it out myself.

I've found and bookmarked a site that explains what the various beep
codes mean and will check that out tomorrow. The fact that it works
well after Windows has booted seems hopeful. The last thing I did was
to load and save the BIOS defaults - hopefully that wasn't an ill-
judged stab in the dark.

I didn't get a Windows 2000 CD with this machine so hopefully wiping
the hard drive it isn't going to be what helps, though I do have a
Windows 98 CD if the worst comes to the worst.

The company should have spotted this, it's annoying. If it is the
battery, can I replace it myself, and what will that cost? I can't
solder, if that's involved. Would I be right to suppose that the fact
that once booted up it works well suggests the motherboard and RAM are
both fine?

Any advice from the chaps who've responded to my other questions is
welcome again. Thanks.

wrote:
> I'm hoping this is going to be simple because the machine is otherwise
> working fine with the exception of the floppy drive, but my Deskpro
> SFF 886 mhz seems to have some kind of problem which I'm hoping is not
> related to a dying battery. The first time I switch it on - to recap
> it's (at least nominally) refurbished - some beeps happen and some
> kind of message that says either the system configuration has changed
> or the internal clock is playing up; I can see the clock isn't losing
> time so hopefully that's a good sign. I'm prompted to use F10 and
> save settings, then the machine is fine for ages, till I next turn it
> on. I expected this to happen one more time when I swapped a CD drive
> for a DVD drive. Something tells me the company I bought it from
> isn't going to be very co-operative if I approach them, though I will
> try if I can't sort it out myself.
>
> I've found and bookmarked a site that explains what the various beep
> codes mean and will check that out tomorrow. The fact that it works
> well after Windows has booted seems hopeful. The last thing I did was
> to load and save the BIOS defaults - hopefully that wasn't an ill-
> judged stab in the dark.
>
> I didn't get a Windows 2000 CD with this machine so hopefully wiping
> the hard drive it isn't going to be what helps, though I do have a
> Windows 98 CD if the worst comes to the worst.
>
> The company should have spotted this, it's annoying. If it is the
> battery, can I replace it myself, and what will that cost? I can't
> solder, if that's involved. Would I be right to suppose that the fact
> that once booted up it works well suggests the motherboard and RAM are
> both fine?
>
> Any advice from the chaps who've responded to my other questions is
> welcome again. Thanks.

The motherboard and RAM are fine. The CMOS battery on the motherboard
is dead. It has just enough juice to run the clock. If it's a standard
C2032 3v lithium battery, replacement does not require soldering.
Otherwise, you'll need to inspect the motherboard and find the battery.

.... Ben Myers

Hi!

> I'm hoping is not related to a dying battery.

If it is, that is far from being the end of the world. The Deskpro EN
family all use CR2032 batteries. You can buy one for "a few quid"
almost anywhere. You don't need a special computer-approved type of
battery--any good quality CR2032 from a reputable name in batteries
will do.

You might even be able to pluck a good one off of a dead motherboard
from something else if need be. Try not to touch the battery too much
when you install it. Skin oils are said to cause erosion of the
battery casing.

The battery may not be dead, but I'll bet it's close. Typically,
though, the clock starts slipping before the BIOS settings are lost.
The average lifetime of these batteries is about 5 years.

> I didn't get a Windows 2000 CD with this machine so
> hopefully wiping the hard drive it isn't going to be
> what helps, though I do have a Windows 98 CD if the
> worst comes to the worst.

I am sure you could buy a secondhand copy of Windows 2000 pretty
cheaply from a reputable seller.

> The company should have spotted this, it's annoying.
> If it is the battery, can I replace it myself, and
> what will that cost?

If they really tested the system, yes. Oftentimes, these refurbishers
are very busy people who only have time to do a "power on test" and
call the machine good if it boots up--or in some cases, if it does
anything at all and doesn't produce too much smoke when plugged in.

The battery is socketed, you can easily remove it.

William

This is good. Thanks. I suppose my attitude to computers' batteries
is coloured by having used laptops only for several years, and the
forbidding manuals' suggestion of returning the machines to fit new
batteries. Actually, my first laptop's clock was for no evident
software/viral reason losing time from the day of purchase - a week or
so after being put in-sync and the time was ten or fifteen minutes out
- and I'm wondering, as the Deskpro is not losing time since the BIOS
reset and is showing no other weaknesses, if the refurbishers may have
at least already replaced it. You'd think they would, for their own
benefit to avoid trouble with customers.

Anyway, I know what I'm doing now. Cheers all.

On Nov 10, 4:29*pm, "William R. Walsh" <wm_wa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> > I'm hoping is not related to a dying battery.
>
> If it is, that is far from being the end of the world. The Deskpro EN
> family all use CR2032 batteries. You can buy one for "a few quid"
> almost anywhere. You don't need a special computer-approved type of
> battery--any good quality CR2032 from a reputable name in batteries
> will do.
>
> You might even be able to pluck a good one off of a dead motherboard
> from something else if need be. Try not to touch the battery too much
> when you install it. Skin oils are said to cause erosion of the
> battery casing.
>
> The battery may not be dead, but I'll bet it's close. Typically,
> though, the clock starts slipping before the BIOS settings are lost.
> The average lifetime of these batteries is about 5 years.
>
> > I didn't get a Windows 2000 CD with this machine so
> > hopefully wiping the hard drive it isn't going to be
> > what helps, though I do have a Windows 98 CD if the
> > worst comes to the worst.
>
> I am sure you could buy a secondhand copy of Windows 2000 pretty
> cheaply from a reputable seller.
>
> > The company should have spotted this, it's annoying.
> > If it is the battery, can I replace it myself, and
> > what will that cost?
>
> If they really tested the system, yes. Oftentimes, these refurbishers
> are very busy people who only have time to do a "power on test" and
> call the machine good if it boots up--or in some cases, if it does
> anything at all and doesn't produce too much smoke when plugged in.
>
> The battery is socketed, you can easily remove it.
>
> William

wrote:
> This is good. Thanks. I suppose my attitude to computers' batteries
> is coloured by having used laptops only for several years, and the
> forbidding manuals' suggestion of returning the machines to fit new
> batteries. Actually, my first laptop's clock was for no evident
> software/viral reason losing time from the day of purchase - a week or
> so after being put in-sync and the time was ten or fifteen minutes out
> - and I'm wondering, as the Deskpro is not losing time since the BIOS
> reset and is showing no other weaknesses, if the refurbishers may have
> at least already replaced it. You'd think they would, for their own
> benefit to avoid trouble with customers.
>
> Anyway, I know what I'm doing now. Cheers all.
>
> On Nov 10, 4:29 pm, "William R. Walsh" <wm_wa...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>>> I'm hoping is not related to a dying battery.
>> If it is, that is far from being the end of the world. The Deskpro EN
>> family all use CR2032 batteries. You can buy one for "a few quid"
>> almost anywhere. You don't need a special computer-approved type of
>> battery--any good quality CR2032 from a reputable name in batteries
>> will do.
>>
>> You might even be able to pluck a good one off of a dead motherboard
>> from something else if need be. Try not to touch the battery too much
>> when you install it. Skin oils are said to cause erosion of the
>> battery casing.
>>
>> The battery may not be dead, but I'll bet it's close. Typically,
>> though, the clock starts slipping before the BIOS settings are lost.
>> The average lifetime of these batteries is about 5 years.
>>
>>> I didn't get a Windows 2000 CD with this machine so
>>> hopefully wiping the hard drive it isn't going to be
>>> what helps, though I do have a Windows 98 CD if the
>>> worst comes to the worst.
>> I am sure you could buy a secondhand copy of Windows 2000 pretty
>> cheaply from a reputable seller.
>>
>>> The company should have spotted this, it's annoying.
>>> If it is the battery, can I replace it myself, and
>>> what will that cost?
>> If they really tested the system, yes. Oftentimes, these refurbishers
>> are very busy people who only have time to do a "power on test" and
>> call the machine good if it boots up--or in some cases, if it does
>> anything at all and doesn't produce too much smoke when plugged in.
>>
>> The battery is socketed, you can easily remove it.
>>
>> William
>
The refurbishers probably did NOT replace the C2032 battery, given the
symptoms you describe. If you remove the power cord from the wall (the
mains, do you say?), the system will once again complain about CMOS
settings. As long as there is external power being applied, most
computers allow for a trickle charge to maintain all the CMOS settings.

.... Ben Myers