What the..?!

Yeah Nihil, I was thinking the same thing about portability... I'm going to open the RTC battery slot probably tomorrow and take a peek see what's up but I thought I'd provide some extra information I forgot and only occurred to me last night.

Since I'm usually using my laptop in the house, I removed the battery and it's running solely on AC power. At night, when the laptop gets shut down, I remove the AC plug because it emits an annoying light that won't let me sleep. I decided to experiment last night and left the AC connected, the time was fine this morning. I'm going to disconnect it tonight see if it produces the opposite effect.

Hi,

That confirms that it is the RTC battery. Whilst you are on mains power it is getting power via the motherboard.

Have a look and clean the contacts..........dont touch them with your bare fingers as the oil on your skin can affect conductivity. Then make sure that the battery is firmly seated.

It is clear that when you power the machine down in battery mode this does not supply power to the clock......... the train episode demonstrates this.

If you have it without the rechargeable battery in it (like now), just leaving it disconnected for an hour will tell you if the RTC battery is "good".

You must know someone with a battery tester/multimeter? you need to find out if the battery is OK. Try your local electrical repair shop and ask them to test it for you?

If the battery is OK you have no choice other than to return the box for repair:(

Well, yeah, I think it's officially confirmed. This morning when I turned my laptop on, the battery seemed to work for 3 hours then stopped at 4am. I'm going to take it out later see how it goes, but what are the chances the HP will send me a RTC battery so I can replace it myself?

Very good I would say. It is a low cost user replaceable item. They would not want the handling costs? :)

So I call HP, and they said/claim that it is normal for it to not have the correct time if the battery isn't in place. He said the battery recharges the RTC battery when it is inserted so they basically work together to keep the time up apparently. Anybody think this guy doesn't know what he's saying or does it sound about right?

EDIT: I was thinking, is there a way to edit the registry so that the time updates online on startup?

It sounds like total bullcrap to me. You don't use a rechargeable battery to recharge another one............. you use mains/DC power supply. Also what the hell do you need two batteries to run the clock for?

Ring again and don't accept the crap............. if they try, it demand to speak to their manager......................;) and then to their technical department.

Tell them that the thing isn't working and you want it replaced NOW!

:)

Alright, thanks a lot!!

Have to spread APs, shows how much I hand them out nowadays =P

Hmmmm, I think I understand what the guy was trying to say. Basically I think that it needs the main battery inserted to recharge the RTC battery. I am guessing that they must charge in series, or at least need charging to be activated?

You might try checking that the RTC battery is making a firm contact and then insert and charge the main battery. Then try your test again. If it isn't defective I would expect it to run for a very long time without being recharged.

I am presuming that when you bought the computer you charged the main battery? that should have charged the RTC enough to run for at least a year IMO, provided of course that it was making proper contact.

As an example, I have a rechargeable lithium battery in a wristwatch that is powered by light............. it will run in pitch darkness for 5 years, and that is with a smaller battery that is also driving a motor and pointers!

:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nihil

Hmmmm, I think I understand what the guy was trying to say. Basically I think that it needs the main battery inserted to recharge the RTC battery. I am guessing that they must charge in series, or at least need charging to be activated?

You might try checking that the RTC battery is making a firm contact and then insert and charge the main battery. Then try your test again. If it isn't defective I would expect it to run for a very long time without being recharged.

I am presuming that when you bought the computer you charged the main battery? that should have charged the RTC enough to run for at least a year IMO, provided of course that it was making proper contact.

As an example, I have a rechargeable lithium battery in a wristwatch that is powered by light............. it will run in pitch darkness for 5 years, and that is with a smaller battery that is also driving a motor and pointers!

:)

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You know Johnno,

So often, I have had software people tell customers real wild stories about their hardware.. or just as bad.. Service reps who read a script, and when it isnt in the script.. they create a story from their experiences, based on imagination not fact...
Many a time I have sat down at with component manuals, service manuals, and circuit diagrams wondering where in blue blazes their imaginations gathered the information.
Where I work now.. at various stages of the project we needed to run our PC's from generators for upto a month at a time.. and the operating frequency varies considerably, with out time updates (blocked by policy) the pc's generaly were time perfect plus or minus a minute.. but then that is all some are out by normally...
The only time I have encountered a problem with RTC clocks misbehaving in recent times, the fault was due to incorrect decoupling on the supply to the RTC chip.. clean mains was ok, battery was good.. but on the generator or a inverter.. and the RTC went wild.. ahh 10uf can electro (SM)..

Jumping in late...

Cold solder joints on the the MB at the the battery holder or a bad battery.

Last battery I replaced for a computer $4 (US) hardly worth the time to spend on tech support voice mail hell.