Laptop Has Died Help Please!

Alison18

Hi Guys,

Need some desperate help please, my laptop has just died 10 mins ago and already I feel lost without it!! Nicked my partners for now to write this!

Basically, about an hour ago I picked the laptop up to take it in the other room to plug into the scanner and I noticed the date/time were wrong it had gone back to midnight 1st January 2009. I didnt really think much of it and thought I must have pressed the button as was going to change it later.

I then came on MSE and submitted a post then it said something about servers and times so I pressed the button to change it and it didnt do it. I then shut the computer down and went to restart and on restarting its making a noise but im getting a black laptop screen. I definitely havent damaged the screen and am wondering if it sounds like I have a virus or whether its a loose connection. Ive always thought my laptop had a loose connection because at times the touchpad goes funny and I have to push the laptop together then it works!!

Any tips/suggestions? I could try unscrewing the thing but to be honest I wouldnt have a clue what im doing!

Thanks in advance

Alison

Alison18

Ive just done a bit of googling and have taken the battery out. The computer has now booted up but on booting it says CMOS battery failiure? What does that mean? Also the date and time are still incorrect. Should I just carry on as normal now or do I need to do anything?

Thanks

Alison

Alias_Omega

CMOS battery is the battery on the motherboard that keeps the system time & date when the laptop is not powered.

What that means is that you will have press the F-key to accept the failure, and boot the laptop. The time & date will be out and will need setting each time.

How to fix it? Replace the CMOS battery.

closed

or just set windows to sync the time to a working time server by clicking on the clock icon

and backup, in case it happens again

Alison18

Sorry to be a pain again! I'm just using the laptop now without the battery plugged in until I can get it sorted. Was wondering if anyone knew how much a CMOS battery costs roughly and where do I get one from? Ive got a Toshiba Satellite L300D. Is it easy enough to change the battery myself or do I need to get a specialist to do it?

Thanks

Alison

closed

it's a watch battery usually so pennies to a couple of pounds.

can be fiddly to get at, but just needs a screwdriver and patience.

the machine will still work without a new one, windows can automatically sync the correct time at boot by connecting to the net.

doesn't it work with the main battery in? taking the battery out isn't usually necessary unless faulty, you could have just held the power button down for 10 seconds

GunJack

it depends where it's situated - you may find it's behind a cover on the base, or it may need a complete strip-down to access the battery. Check the service manual for your model.

http://tim.id.au/laptops/toshiba/equium%20l300d%20satego%20l300d%20satellite%20l300d%20l305d%20pro%20l300d.pdf

Alison18

Thanks so much for the help. No it wont work at all with the battery in it. It just a black screen like the screen is dead and it doesnt make a noise like it does when it starts up it just goes quiet.

Alias_Omega

Is there 2 faults?

1) The CMOS battery error
2) The laptop fails to boot with the battery fitted

Alison18

I really don't know anything about the CMOS battery not sure if its an error with it. It just said CMOS when I eventually got it to boot without the battery in it.

Yes the laptop will not boot without the battery in it.

centretap

If it's powering up on mains but not battery I'd suspect the CMOS error is a red herring. If it's easily reachable, ie under an access panel give it a go, it won't cost much. But I think you may well have a more serious issue.