I built my current desktop PC in 2019. This past week, when booting up, it started saying the BIOS had reset to default settings and I could run BIOS setup or continue booting. I figured it might be a sign that the CMOS battery had died and needed to be replaced. I went ahead and replaced the CMOS battery this morning - Not difficult, but definitely a job, as I had to unplug everything, move my PC to a table to work on it, and remove the GPU in order to get to the CMOS battery. Luckly, I had one more CR2032 battery in a package I had bought from the store not too long ago, so I didn't need to buy a new one right now.

At the same time, I also replaced the graphics card support bracket I was using. I have a Nvidia RTX 3080TI, which is a fairly big & heavy graphics card. Graphics cards these days are heavy enough that stres on the motherboard is a concern (if using a tower case), and there are support brackets you can buy that support the graphics card on the far end to prevent it from sagging (too much, at least). I was using a support that freely stands on the bottom of the case and has an adjustable piece to let the graphics card rest on. I wasn't really comfortable with the support not being firmly attached to the case, so a while ago I had bought another support which screws onto the expansion card screws in the back of the case. I went ahead and put that in while I was in the PC replacing the CMOS battery. I'm glad I finally got that done.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

So how is everything now? Snug and sturdy? I am running a 11 year old computer and never even noticed a battery 🔋. Have a good day.

telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
Madison,NC
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: Ricks BBS - ricksbbs.synchro.net (21:1/242)

Re: PC CMOS battery & GPU support bracket replaced
By: Rixter to Nightfox on Mon Sep 09 2024 05:58 am

So how is everything now? Snug and sturdy? I am running a 11 year old computer and never even noticed a battery 🔋. Have a good day.

Yeah, things seem fine.

I'm sure your PC has a battery. The CMOS battery is there to provide power to prevent things like the time and PC's BIOS settings from going away. But naturally, when the battery dies, you need to replace the battery and reset the time and other settings in the BIOS. Older PCs from the 80s often had a battery directly soldered to the motherboard, but newer PCs tend to use one of those flat round CR2032 batteries that are easier to replace.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

Nightfox wrote to Rixter <=-

battery and reset the time and other settings in the BIOS. Older PCs
from the 80s often had a battery directly soldered to the motherboard,
but newer PCs tend to use one of those flat round CR2032 batteries that are easier to replace.

I had a crappy plastic 4xAA battery holder stuck to the inside of the
case with double-sided tape, which would inevitably fail and crash onto
the motherboard.

For as much nostalgia as I have for older operating systems, I don't
miss MFM drives, fat ribbon cables taking up all of the space in my
case, those little wires that connected to the motherboard for lights
and turbo switches (which weren't keyes or standardized, so getting them
all working was a chore) or setting jumpers for IRQs.

What I do miss? That satisfying THUNK of an old power supply switch,
ticking memory tests, and hard drives with access lights you could see
from the outside of the case.


--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Re: Re: PC CMOS battery & GPU support bracket replaced
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Tue Sep 10 2024 09:24 am

For as much nostalgia as I have for older operating systems, I don't miss MFM drives, fat ribbon cables taking up all of the space in my case, those little wires that connected to the motherboard for lights and turbo switches (which weren't keyes or standardized, so getting them all working was a chore) or setting jumpers for IRQs.

Those little wires that connect to the motherboard for the lights, power button, and reset button still exist. I built my current desktop in 2019, and the front LEDs and buttons still connect to the motherboard that way. There's also the front USB ports, which connect to USB headers on the motherboard.

What I do miss? That satisfying THUNK of an old power supply switch, ticking memory tests, and hard drives with access lights you could see from the outside of the case.

I sometimes miss those too.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)