Mods- IDK what section for..... BIOS DOES NOT HOLD MEMORY

[runLoganrun]

hI,

Currently I am using my Sager 8690 Laptop, w/ ati 5800 gpu and intel 840-qm quad core.
the optical bay has been replaced with a 2nd hdd.

Problem: BIOS no longer holds memory of settings, date, and time. it resets to default setup everytime it does not have power.

I have since replaced the CMOS battery, with no change... I did not test the battery beforehand, however it is a quality name battery and it would seem unlikely that it would be bad... also incidentally, it would seem unlikely that the original battery went bad, in under 2 years. One other issue which is possibly involved, although I dont see how, is that the main battery for powering the laptop is dead now also, I can leave it on a charger all night, and if it becomes unplugged it is lucky to make it past 5s of uptime, if any. My understanding is that the cmos battery is indepent of that system, and should still retain the settings, etc, with or without the battery

I have the latest BIOS and EP chip firmware flashed

Does anyone know what could be causing this?

Thanks so much,
rlr

 

[matt9669]

Best to check the obvious first - pop that battery out and test it. Make sure it's going back with the correct polarity. I'd go ahead and do a proper CMOS clear as well, without the battery installed: short those pins for a good long while i.e. hours.

Yes, the CMOS and main batteries are independent.

If the battery is good, installed correctly, but still not holding settings: my guess would be the board's leaking power from that battery somewhere, but I doubt you could do anything to fix it ... Is there still a warranty of any kind on the laptop?

 

[runLoganrun]

Best to check the obvious first - pop that battery out and test it. Make sure it's going back with the correct polarity. I'd go ahead and do a proper CMOS clear as well, without the battery installed: short those pins for a good long while i.e. hours.

Yes, the CMOS and main batteries are independent.

If the battery is good, installed correctly, but still not holding settings: my guess would be the board's leaking power from that battery somewhere, but I doubt you could do anything to fix it ... Is there still a warranty of any kind on the laptop?

Hi, thanks for response...

unfortunately it is out of warranty... when I replaced the cmos battery, I did not reset +jumpers, I'm not exactly sure where they are on this machine. I'm sure I could find, but I bet they hard to get to, as is the cmos battery itself..

Thanks for the help,
rlr

Anyone know off hand, where cmos reselt pins are in Sager 8690

 

[BinarySynapse]

I don't know of many laptops that have jumpers of any sort at they're typically not meant to be reconfigured once they're buttoned up. He meant to short the battery socket's contacts (with the battery out of course).

 

[matt9669]

I don't know of many laptops that have jumpers of any sort at they're typically not meant to be reconfigured once they're buttoned up. He meant to short the battery socket's contacts (with the battery out of course).

Yes, thanks for reading my mind

 

[runLoganrun]

Best to check the obvious first - pop that battery out and test it. Make sure it's going back with the correct polarity. I'd go ahead and do a proper CMOS clear as well, without the battery installed: short those pins for a good long while i.e. hours.

Yes, the CMOS and main batteries are independent.

If the battery is good, installed correctly, but still not holding settings: my guess would be the board's leaking power from that battery somewhere, but I doubt you could do anything to fix it ... Is there still a warranty of any kind on the laptop?

Do you mean the CMOS battery is leaking somewhere? or main?

When i replaced the cmos battery, it didn't work and then stop working, as I may suspect if there was leak, right? Is tha what you mean?

thanks a lot,
rlr

 

[mhenley]

I had this problem once, and I was able to trace it to a series of resistors that failed. If you're really wanting to find out where the problem lies, you're probably going to need a set of precison screwdrivers, a multimeter, and lots of time... Start with the replacement CMOS battery though; It should read ~3.0-3.3v.

For the main battery, it is uncommon, but not unheard of, for it to only last 1-2 years. Typically you see more, but the only way to test is to order a replacement and try it.