FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CMOS and CMOS Batteries
Last updated: 10/13/05

Q. Every time I boot up my PC the date is 1/1/1998, the time is 00:00.  The CMOS battery is coin-shaped...

A. Coin-shaped batteries on most motherboareds should be a CR2032. Make sure it is properly installed and + is up. If you have a multimeter or you have a friend who has a multimeter, remove the battery and check the voltage. It should read 3.0 volts when fully charged. If it reads 1.8 volts or higher it is probably OK. Be very careful installing and removing coin-shaped batteries. Most of the battery holders I have seen for these batteries are quite fragile and easily broken. I ease these batteries into the holder with the aid of a “tweaker” (small screw driver).

nonameyet states in the Dux General Forum that Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Windows Clock on Taskbar and in Date/Time Tool Loses Time (Q189706) may be of interest to some readers with clock problems.

7/27/02

After doing some more research it appears that those blue batteries that were soldered on old motherboards, or at least some of those blue batteries, were Nickel-Cadmium and they were rechargable. The following reference is worth a bookmark if you are interested in the subject. Larry

http://www.resource800.com/ccbtypes.html

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