Hi all,

My system has requires motherboard charge resets every time I leave its old and damaged battery connected. For now I have disconnected it, but am worried that having the connectors that used to touch the battery terminals exposed to the outside environment could cause exposure to water or static shock.
I have a Dell Inspiron 15R. Is there a way that I could have the battery in but have disconnected by changing some BIOS setting or some makeshift remedy? Or are my worries about the area where the battery was being exposed unnecessary?

Thanks

Hi:

Is this your Dell?
http://www.pcworld.com/product/12404...-15r-5520.html

In your BIOS under "Charger Behavior" you should be able to "disable" it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxbz2dAIbu8

With some laptops; to get into your BIOS press 'F2' while your machine is booting up.
If F2 doesn't work look in your laptop's mobo book or look up your motherboard online in PDF form to find out how to get into the BIOS.

If you can see that dust is getting in and on the mobo with the battery not in place it's a good idea to replace the battery. Remember, dust is the enemy when it comes to pc.

Thanks - I will try that in the next day or two and see if the F2 trick works.

I also intend to replace my battery later this month.

Nothing wrong with leaving a battery out. Better to leave bad battery out anyway.

If I just leave the battery out, should I still go into the BIOS and disable the battery interface? Or will that not add protection to potential shorting/static electricity and just be a waste of time?

I'm not sure if you should disable the battery or not. If I had to guess it can't hurt.
You can always 'enable' it again after you install a new battery.

Statatic electricity happens as simple as just walking across the floor (friction) especially when cold weather is on the ground.

Just to be cautious you could touch the area around the touchpad first before doing any typing.
That way your grounded.

When I have my desktop apart I always touch the case first before I touch the mobo or plug any plugs in.

I'll leave it out until I have the battery placed, and just be careful. Thanks to all who offered advice!

Your Welcome-

If you have an option to disable battery charging then go ahead. I doubt it would matter. Laptop should know there is no battery in it.