Old Faithful Restart

[WinXPUser]

Win XP desktop from years ago was restarted several months ago.
Other than the password having to be regurgitated I was able to get it
up and running.

Ran fine, shut it down a month or so ago then today tried to restart it
for a task that only it could do ! Has special hardware in a slot
inside. Have no other PC that can take that hardware.

Booted to a blue screen of quiz.
Noticed that the CMOS date was now 2004. Hummm ?

Hit F1 then was greeted by
Keyboard working (old style connector)
USB mouse NOT working !

Message saying it was installing 49 updates and proceeded to count
down ! WHAT ?

As in WHAT ??? It is NOT connected to the internet in any way.
No wifi built in and no ethernet CAT5 connected.

Why was the mouse not recognized ?
What is it installing ?

Must I replace the CMOS battery or can I just live with it.
I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
is not accessible.

I need this PC.
Your assistance greatly appreciated !

[Paul[_32_]]

WinXPUser wrote:
> Win XP desktop from years ago was restarted several months ago.
> Other than the password having to be regurgitated I was able to get it
> up and running.
>
> Ran fine, shut it down a month or so ago then today tried to restart it
> for a task that only it could do ! Has special hardware in a slot
> inside. Have no other PC that can take that hardware.
>
> Booted to a blue screen of quiz.
> Noticed that the CMOS date was now 2004. Hummm ?
>
> Hit F1 then was greeted by
> Keyboard working (old style connector)
> USB mouse NOT working !
>
> Message saying it was installing 49 updates and proceeded to count
> down ! WHAT ?
>
> As in WHAT ??? It is NOT connected to the internet in any way.
> No wifi built in and no ethernet CAT5 connected.
>
> Why was the mouse not recognized ?
> What is it installing ?
>
> Must I replace the CMOS battery or can I just live with it.
> I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
> is not accessible.
>
> I need this PC.
> Your assistance greatly appreciated !

There are a few desktops, that they will black screen if
the CMOS battery (CR2032) is flat. So on those, you don't
get a choice. And it's not clear from a design perspective,
why they're doing that. The power source is wired-OR, and
the ATX supply should take over just fine. Yet, they won't
start.

Many other machines will start, but the time (and a number
of settings) will be wrong. For any custom settings, you
must restore the settings manually, every time that power
is applied from the wall. I do that on a few machines here,
ones I don't use very often.

On enthusiast machines with an "overclocker profile", all the
settings can be restored from Flash. You have to remember to
"save" the settings at least once, when the machine is stable.
Then, if the battery is flat, simply power up the machine and
"restore" Profile 1 to the BIOS. Now all your settings are
restored.

Of course the time won't be right, but NTP can fix that once
the OS is booted and the network is up.

A CMOS battery CR2032 in a little-used computer, will only last
about three years. It's normally slightly over 3V, and
once it drops to around 2.3V, the CMOS/RTC will malfunrcion
again. The battery does not charge in the computer. That
particular battery is not a charging type.

Some computers have a different kind of battery. My old
Mac has a cylindrical battery, which lasts at least ten
years. Of course, that one is flat too right now :-)

Double-check the BIOS settings, because the wrong disk
setting will give "inaccessible boot volume". Maybe you're
booting off something else ? I like to adjust the System
control panel setting that defines "automatic restart". As
you want a Blue Screen to stand still, so you can write
down the error message and go look it up. With Automatic Restart
disabled, then you have time to record the BSOD on a
piece of paper for later.

https://s2.postimg.org/iqzgbw7p5/no_auto_restart.gif

Paul

[J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]]

In message >, WinXPUser
> writes:
[]
>I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
>is not accessible.
[]
Few desktops of as late as XP (!) have the CR2032 in an inaccessible
place.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is one of the reasons being British is good. It's not a subset of
Britain - it's almost as if Britain is a subset of Radio 4. - Stephen Fry, in
Radio Times, 7-13 June, 2003.

[philo]

On 04/07/2017 03:56 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message >, WinXPUser
> > writes:
> []
>> I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
>> is not accessible.
> []
> Few desktops of as late as XP (!) have the CR2032 in an inaccessible place.



Correct, it should be very easy to get at and simple to do.

I'd replace it for sure.

[Paul[_32_]]

philo wrote:
> On 04/07/2017 03:56 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>> In message >, WinXPUser
>> > writes:
>> []
>>> I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
>>> is not accessible.
>> []
>> Few desktops of as late as XP (!) have the CR2032 in an inaccessible
>> place.
>
>
>
> Correct, it should be very easy to get at and simple to do.
>
> I'd replace it for sure.

The only caveat I'll add on this, is "don't encourage
people too much". I made such an answer once, and the
OP in that thread, managed to rip the battery socket
right off the motherboard.

It's accessible alright, but the clip that holds the
battery doesn't release all that easily. And before you
know it, something is ruined.

To be successful, you have to unplug the computer first,
and be very very careful that you know how the release
is supposed to work. There are all sorts of different
battery socket designs. (They really should have made
a nice screw-down cover for these, like a retention ring,
instead of that nasty kinda clip.)

Paul

[Ian Jackson[_4_]]

In message >, Paul >
writes
>philo wrote:
>> On 04/07/2017 03:56 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>>> In message >, WinXPUser
>>> > writes:
>>> []
>>>> I really do not what to have to open the unit to find that the battery
>>>> is not accessible.
>>> []
>>> Few desktops of as late as XP (!) have the CR2032 in an inaccessible
>>>place.
>> Correct, it should be very easy to get at and simple to do.
>> I'd replace it for sure.
>
>The only caveat I'll add on this, is "don't encourage
>people too much". I made such an answer once, and the
>OP in that thread, managed to rip the battery socket
>right off the motherboard.
>
>It's accessible alright, but the clip that holds the
>battery doesn't release all that easily. And before you
>know it, something is ruined.
>
>To be successful, you have to unplug the computer first,
>and be very very careful that you know how the release
>is supposed to work. There are all sorts of different
>battery socket designs. (They really should have made
>a nice screw-down cover for these, like a retention ring,
>instead of that nasty kinda clip.)
>
Just a tip to make it easier to change a CR2032 battery:
Stick a strip of duct tape on it first. That will give you something to
pull it out with, and to lift it out of the socket without dropping it -
and similar when fitting the new battery.
--
Ian