My Computer

[Coon]

The power strip for my computer is by a window and my dog has stepped on the on/off button a few times, hard shutting it off. Now when it boots up the time and date is all screwed up. Anybody know what happened and what I can do to fix it? Thanks.

[Jim Almquist]

Sounds like your BIOS battery may be very weak or dead. Just go to your Control Panel and from there you can change your date and time.

[Nick Kuhn]

Correct: system time is maintained on the CMoS which is powered by a small lithium battery. Go into your BIOS and change the system time. When Windows boots it should then correctly read the system time. You may also want a new CMoS battery.

[Coon]

Is changing the battery something a novice like me can do or do I have to take it to a specialist? Where can I get a battery? Thanks

[Nick Kuhn]

There will be a number on it (most likely CR2032). Just google that, you can find them at a number of places. Should cost less than $5 and it's as easy as changing any other battery (in theory at least, they are difficult to pop out of the socket). The only problem might be if an expansion card is covering it, then you will have to pull the expansion card first.

[upnorth]

I would try setting the time in control panel and see if it holds before changing out the CMOS battery. Multiple hard boots like that can be very hard on a PC, especially if it doesn't come all the way up before the next powerdown.

[masoct3]

I would run a diagnostic test. If your POST is booting, that is a good thing. Do you have any problems, speed or lags getting to your login screen?

[Coon]

no i dont think so, actually things seem ok now.