Laptop clock not keeping time

pphillips

My Compaq Presario C300 laptop was not keeping time and would only work off mains power so I thought a new battery would fix the problem.
Changed the battery and it now works unplugged but the time on the clock still falls behind.
Any idea what the issue is and how to fix it?

Neil_Jones

There are two batteries in a laptop - the big long rectangular one and a little round one - usually a CR2032, but may be slightly dfiferent in some laptops.  You need to change the little round one.

pphillips

Where's the little round one located?
Can I change it myself?

Neil_Jones

Google is your friend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31SnISP7CYc

TheRightOne

Compaq Presario C300 is from 2006. Likely you need a better laptop. Current experience must be relatively painful.
If it has a dual core CPU(as opposed to the single core Celeron), the RAM maxxed out to 2GB and an SSD fitted, it might be useful for general surfing.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00753552.pdf 5:17 is where you will find instruction for changing the RTC battery.

BigAl94

Just remember that after you change the CMOS battery go into the BIOS settings and set the time and date.

pphillips

TheRightOne said:

Compaq Presario C300 is from 2006. Likely you need a better laptop. Current experience must be relatively painful.
If it has a dual core CPU(as opposed to the single core Celeron), the RAM maxxed out to 2GB and an SSD fitted, it might be useful for general surfing.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00753552.pdf 5:17 is where you will find instruction for changing the RTC battery.

It generally works for word processing, printing and occasional browsing. I don't really need it to do much else.

TheRightOne

pphillips said:

TheRightOne said:

Compaq Presario C300 is from 2006. Likely you need a better laptop. Current experience must be relatively painful.
If it has a dual core CPU(as opposed to the single core Celeron), the RAM maxxed out to 2GB and an SSD fitted, it might be useful for general surfing.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00753552.pdf 5:17 is where you will find instruction for changing the RTC battery.

It generally works for word processing, printing and occasional browsing. I don't really need it to do much else.

Works doesn't speak to how long it takes to complete normal tasks. 
How long does it take from pressing the power button, to you to be able to begin using it? Time it.

I'm guessing that you have just acclimatised yourself to the slowness.

DoaM

Sometimes startup time isn't the most-pressing issue ... you can go away and make a cup of tea/coffee while you wait. It's more the time it takes to do anything. e.g. From clicking on Word (or whatever) or the document itself, how long does it take for the programme to open and for you to start editing? If auto-save is enabled (or you press Ctrl+S to save) is this intrusive? (i.e. takes a while to complete before you can edit again). Similarly for printing.

If the usability is getting on your nerves then you may decide that this machine has served its purpose and reached the end of its usable life. If it's generally OK but a  small improvement would help then replacing the button battery and then adding RAM (if possible) and changing the HDD to an SSD will give it a new lease of life for a relatively small outlay.

pphillips

Yes, it does take much longer to do normal things than my Samsung tablet but thankfully I can do most things on the tablet. The primary consideration is cost and the fact that all PCs and laptops I have owed eventually get slower over time to the point of almost grinding to a halt. So far I haven't worked our how to reverse the aging process 😁

arciere

pphillips said:

So far I haven't worked our how to reverse the aging process 😁

Do the things that you were doing when your computer was 'born' and I can guarantee you that it won't look 1 day older than when you purchased it