iv got an oldish computer whos BIOS Battery has run out. or at least i think thats what has happened, considering my limited understanding of hardware i could be way off course.

the problem i am having is... unless i simply reboot the computer the machine forgets all the settings in the BIOS. so if i have it turned off even just for a moment it stalls after counting through the RAM and makes me hit F1 and loads up the BIOS configuration. this isnt a real hassle but id prefer it ran smoother.

if im right what i wanna know is: is it possible to replace the battery? i have another motherboard from the same age that still runs fine. i could swap all the components over to that but its also rather dirty and id rather not. anyway on both the motherboards there is a lithium battery about the diameter of a ten cent coin. would swapping that over fix my problems. im kinda scared to mess with the insides of these computers cos they arnet mine and as crappy as they are id hate to have to say "im sorry i broke it"

tech info:
the mother boards both have socket 7s for the cpu. the processors on them are 66Mhz and 75Mhz. both motherboards were using SD RAM.

if anyone can correct me or help id really like it.

Thanks.
Ben.

no, changing the battery if done properly shouldn't hurt anything just make sure to insert it in the correct manner....

thanks man.

Most CMOS batteries are the pancake shaped camera/calculator batteries, about the size of a US nickel. Some machines use a drum-shaped battery, but the are rare. Make sure you have the right kind before changing it.

no problem JaseP is right though, make sure the voltages and sizes are the same on the batteries before just plain swapping.

If the motherboards are the same age then I expect the same for the battery.

You might as well look into purchasing a new battery.

doh, i was thingkinig that but was too chiken to say it but michalk is absolutely right.... you'd probably be better off with a fresh battery as you can be guaranteed a decent life,, also make sure tha battery isn't soldered to the mobo

Mobo makers started moving away from those ni-cad "barrel" shapped batteries about the time the P-100 came out. There should be a four pin connector for plugging in an external battery when the onboard one no longer recharges. They're usually 6V, so four AA batteries will do the trick.