x31 backup battery ... power problem ... stupid question?

[godling]

I bought a used x31 back in Feb, and love it -- it's exactly what I need for power, size, weight, and compatability. Last week, however, it failed to restart from a Suspend. Removed the battery, put it back in, and presto, it restarts. Great! Well, short train ride later, I go back to suspend, and when I try to restart again ... no good. Power button doesn't work. I plug in the AC adapter, no light on the bezel indicating it's on. Take the whole thing apart, according to the maintenance manual, but don't see anything wrong. Put it back together, plug it in ... and the light is on. Fantastic, it's usable again. Been good for a few days, so it might have been the problem mentoned in this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=46124

Anyway, in taking it apart, I notice something in the DIMM area ... there's no backup battery, as indicated in the maintenance manual. This thing has been running for months, at least, without what I thought was the CMOS battery. What is that battery for, if not CMOS? And, since I'd like to put one in there (seems a good idea), any suggestions on reputable dealers?

Thanks!
-Jon

[Deckard]

Hey Jon,

welcome to the Thinkpads forums

I have a very similar problem.

Symptoms (on AC - battery is not plugged)

1) Fn+F4 - "Preparing to Standy" message appears, then system cuts power. Power button doesn't wake the computer up. After disconnecting and re-connecting power cord, pressing the power button, the computer reboots from the beginning (as one would normally boot a windows PC)

2) Closing the lid puts the computer into hibernation. Opening the lid and pressing the power button doesn't work. After disconnecting and re-connecting power cord, it works.

-Battery plugged-

3) Closing the lid puts the computer into hibernation. With the battery attached, pressing the power button wakes the computer from hibernation. Standby (Fn+F4) still doesn't work with the battery attached - it still cuts power.


None of the previous Power Manager Drivers worked. I have 1.43 at the moment (latest), I have tried 1.41, 1.42 to no avail.

I have ordered the CMOS battery from IBM today, should arrive in a couple of days. I am not sure if the culprit is the CMOS battery.

[godling]

Deckard,

thanks for the reply. Yes, I saw your problem in the forums and thought it was familiar.

What's really throwing me is, what is that backup battery? How is my system functioning without it, if it's supposed to be a CMOS battery? It's not like I have to re-set the time in my BIOS everytime I power up.

Anyone who can tell me what that battery is / does, and point me to someone reputable to purchase one, will be greatly appreciated.

Not monetarily rewarded, however.

-Jon[/quote]

[billp117]

You can probabaly get the battery at Radio Shack. Also, I would recommend you update your X31 to the latest bios.

[godling]

Purchased a battery on e-bay for <$10 shipped. Also picked up an extra gig of RAM for ~$60, which has helped out immensely in operational speed, though does nothing for the boot-time. (Need a faster HD for that, I suspect.)

So far, can't repeat the problem. Must be fixed!

-Jon

[The Spirit of X21]

Basically, the CMOS battery keeps track of time and BIOS settings. For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonvolatile_BIOS_memory