My Dell desktop is giving me a message when I first start it up saying that its internal battery is low. I never knew I had an internal battery but it makes sense I suppose. Am I supposed to recharge it somehow or is it supposed to be replaced?

The motherboard should have a small round CMOS battery on it that looks like a nickle. They die with age and need to be replaced. If you replace it with the computer powered up, you don't lose your CMOS settings. If you shut down and then replace the battery, the settings will be gone.

It's a pretty standard watch battery I think. Usually about the size of a quarter. Technically, I believe it is called a CMOS battery. Never had to die on me before though.

Don't wait too long unless you copy/backup the BIOS data so you can reset the info.
The battery is what lets the 'puter store all the boot up hardware info.

Don't wait too long unless you copy/backup the BIOS data so you can reset the info.
The battery is what lets the 'puter store all the boot up hardware info.

How do you "backup" the BIOS data?

As stated above, simple fix, they die with time, like any other battery out there. 99.999% chance the one you're going to need to find at the store is a CR2032.

How do you "backup" the BIOS data?The one time I had a battery going bad, I simply wrote the information down. That was back-in-the-day when you had to tell the BIOS how many sectors and heads (I think) your hard drive had.

The typical BIOS today has auto-detect for hard drives and CD/DVD ROM drives so that shouldn't really be an issue. About the only thing really needed is the date & time to be set and maybe whether the system should boot from the CD/DVD ROM first or the 1st hard drive found. Some BIOS may also have capability to password protect the system and that'd probably be lost.

The utility that I use to flash my Award BIOS also asks if I want a backup put on the disk as it's doing it.
Or see if CMOS.ZIP (http://www.computerhope.com/download/hardware.htm) will work for you.
3rd header down.

Backing up a BIOS probably is a good idea if doing a BIOS update but I wouldn't think it necessary just to replace the battery. Wasn't aware there were viruses that attacked the BIOS - guess a backup for that might not be a bad idea either.

Thanks for the links. :thumbsup:

Nothing to do with a virus as far as I know.
When I flash (update) a bios ,I make a backup so I can revert if the new BIOS doesn't work as expected or just not as I want.
There was a kit available that came with a BIOS backup disk and a new CMOS battery so you could just do the BU ,swap the battery & reinstall the BIOS.
Don't know if it's still out there.
Of course ,if it's already dead ,hope the BIOS is a later version that can self detect the hardware.

This battery sounds a lot like one you might find on the remote transmitter key fob for many of todays cars with keyless entry? I think my Tahoe may just use this same type of battery.

So let me get this straight, I can just open up my computer while its on and just swap out the battery?

Might be easier to start by laying the 'puter on it's side with the cover off.
Then turn it on but don't enter your password or have it boot ,if you can.
Then - CAREFULLY - R&R the battery.

I don't know. I certainly wouldn't be trying to replace the battery with power still being applied to the motherboard. :eek:

All of my Dell documentation (4 different Dell computers) recommend not only shutting the system down but unplugging the power cord plus devices, such as printers, video, Ethernet cable, etc. AND making sure you ground yourself before doing anything inside the case.

I admit I don't always do that when doing something 'simple' such as swapping drives but I do find it prudent to do so if changing memory or changing a peripherial card and I'd certainly take all precautions when changing a battery. A battery is tough enough (not impossible but not as easy as changing, say, a hard drive) to get out without having to worry about shorting something on the motherboard or dropping the battery onto something with power and having it explode.

After getting the battery out, be sure to replace it with the same type or equivalent - it's not a one size fits all.

As stated above, simple fix, they die with time, like any other battery out there. 99.999% chance the one you're going to need to find at the store is a CR2032.


Bingo, That is usually the battery.. Atleast with most Dell, Compaq/HP motherboards that I have dealt with.

As for CMOS/BIOS Setting. Unless you have some serious overclocking going on in your bios, I wouldn't worry about a backup. For instance, if you are asking what your bios is, more than likely you have never changed a setting in the bios... So don't worry about it. Just change the battery with the power off and the cord pulled.

Big D

I don't know. I certainly wouldn't be trying to replace the battery with power still being applied to the motherboard. :eek:
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We do it with commercial servers if the manufacturer tells us to do it powered up. They often have custom settings in their CMOS that they don't want to lose, so they instruct us to do it with the computer running.

Well I replaced the battery. Only thing I had to fix after I got it back running was the time and date. At least so far that I have found. I did end up shutting the computer off and disconnecting everything from the computer. Not only because I thought it was the right thing to do, but obviously the chords and cables connected to the back werent long enough to allow them to be attached when I pulled out the tower from my desk.

In an intresting coincidence. Last week I found a new package of 2032 batterys in a drawer in the kitchen. Must have been for the key fob on one of our vehicles. Thanks guys for helping me out.