laptop will not power up

nonstop301 · January 2007

I have an old Dell Latitude CPxJ and today it suddenly just does not want to power up.

It's not the main laptop I use but it works well and last time I used it about 3 weeks ago I had no problems with it. Like I said, I do not use it regularly and I keep it stored it away, but I don't know why it didn't want to start at all today.

The only thing I have been noticing with it in the past that concerned me somewhat, was that the last few times I started it, I kept getting a message that the date and time are incorrect so I had to change it in the BIOS before the operating system launch. The changes I made didn't register next time I booted it up and it was a case of re-entering that information each time I started the computer.

This time however it will not power up for me at all so I'm not sure what occured although I suspect it might have something to do with it's internal battery if it has one hidden somewhere.

Thank you in advance for your comments and any advice as to what needs to be done would be greatly appreciated.

profdlp · January 2007

Dell often puts the CMOS Battery under the keyboard or palmrest. Without looking up a manual (or seeing the thing close-up), I would have a hard time telling you how to remove those parts to get at it.

nonstop301 · January 2007

Thanks for your reply Prof.

You're thinking it's the CMOS battery as well then and I'd have to put it in a new one to get it to power up once more ?

I checked the service manual for the laptop and it talks about a reserve battery so I assume that this refers to the CMOS. If that's the case, then you are correct and it does lie under the palmrest so I'll have to follow the instructions on how to remove all the pieces to get to it.

I looked at the diagram showing what it looks like and I haven't seen one of those before

Are such batteries available to buy from local electric stores or will I have to cocntact Dell here in the UK for them to send me a new one ?

Thanks again for all your suggestions

Oriane · January 2007

nonstop301 wrote:

... today it suddenly just does not want to power up.,,

... it didn't want to start at all today.

... This time however it will not power up for me at all so I'm not sure what occured ...

Thank you in advance for your comments and any advice as to what needs to be done would be greatly appreciated.

For the age of that system, nonstop, I wouldn't be surprised if the system battery is gone. I think you also have to remove the display to get at it too.

However, I’m wondering if your main battery might have died as well? Is it completely dead? Does anything happen or do ANY lights come on or flicker at all? Do the battery lights work? If not- do you or a friend have a voltmeter? If you do, measure the main battery voltage- it should be 14.8V. If it's much less, think about a replacement.

Still, it sounds like your system battery needs to be replaced anyhow. What is it- 7 years old? Breaking down a laptop and putting it back together requires a bit more care than a desktop. Only you can say if it’s worth it. I’m just thinking a system that old might soon have other latent issues besides obselescence and I'd be thinking of replacing more than the battery.

nonstop301 · January 2007

Hi Oriane and thank you for your comments.

I have looked at the service manual for it and fortunately the display doesn't have to be removed if I want to get to the reserve battery as they call it in the manual. It's a matter of removing the keyboard and palmrest alone, however even that isn't entirely straighforward with a laptop but I'll give it a go

The rechargeable battery it has still works though and I have another Dell laptop that uses it without any problems. When I power it up I see the lights turn on but I hear no sound from the hard drive and the screen doens't turn on either. It's just the power and hard drive indicator lights that turn on momentarily and then go off again without anything else happening.

I do realise it's a very old model but if it's just a matter of replaciing the CMOS battery I'm willing to try that and I'm searching to see if they are still available. It serves as a decent accessory laptop to the other two that I use

Oriane · January 2007

Whew! That is good news then- I was also beginning to think worse than a bad battery too.

nonstop301 wrote:

... I have looked at the service manual for it and fortunately the display doesn't have to be removed if I want to get to the reserve battery as they call it in the manual...

Are we looking at the same one? Here is what mine says:

1. Remove the main battery and secondary battery (if present).
2. Remove the device from the modular bay (if present).
3. Remove the keyboard assembly.
4. Remove the display assembly.
5. Remove the palmrest assembly.
6. Turn the palmrest assembly over.
...

Oh- here's the link

At any rate, I have very good hands & eyes and actually thought stripping and rebuilding an LT was pretty fun- there were quite a few more things to keep track of than a desktop. Hope it works out!

profdlp · January 2007

nonstop301 wrote:

Thanks for your reply Prof.

You're thinking it's the CMOS battery as well then and I'd have to put it in a new one to get it to power up once more ?...

You won't know until you try, but for the relatively inexpensive cost of a CMOS battery I think it's a gamble worth taking.

nonstop301 · January 2007

I haven't found a replacement CMOS battery yet but I did open up the laptop to see where the current battery is.

I appears as though the battery has suffered some kind of chemical reaction and there was a white powdery substance that had built up on one of its edges.

I have removed that battery now and I'll post back here when I receive a replacement and see whether that resolves the problem.

Just a final thought about this, since I haven't encountered a CMOS battery issue with a laptop in the past. If I plug in the power adapter to the laptop and the laptop has no CMOS battery in it would this damage the laptop in any way and should the laptop power up or not ?

Thanks again for all your valuable comments

Pterocarpous · January 2007

nonstop301 wrote:

I haven't found a replacement CMOS battery yet but I did open up the laptop to see where the current battery is.

I appears as though the battery has suffered some kind of chemical reaction and there was a white powdery substance that had built up on one of its edges.

I have removed that battery now and I'll post back here when I receive a replacement and see whether that resolves the problem.

Just a final thought about this, since I haven't encountered a CMOS battery issue with a laptop in the past. If I plug in the power adapter to the laptop and the laptop has no CMOS battery in it would this damage the laptop in any way and should the laptop power up or not ?

Thanks again for all your valuable comments

That's a good question. The purpose of the CMOS is to maintain your custom BIOS settings. If there aren't any customized settings that are necessary for your system to boot, I'd guess you'd be able to boot. Again, I'm guessing, though..... Hmmmmm, there is the issue of the system clock, though, hmmmmm.....

BTW, the corroded battery is certainly telling, isn't it. Be careful handling it. Odviously, you'll want to clean the corrosion off of the mobo where the battery contacts are. A q-tip and some alcohol should do the trick (unless this is a bad combination w/ respect to reaction w/ the battery residue....)

Pterocarpous · January 2007

I'm doing some poking around.... because yours is an older system, you might not get away w/ it, not sure (still) though, here's one link I found so far...

EDIT:///
Here's a link that addresses your exact question.....
Here's another....

The concensus seems to be that, yes, you should be able to boot w/o the batt'. Your clock will be wrong of course and you won't be able to configure any customized settings in your BIOS. Other than that, it should be ok....

nonstop301 · January 2007

Thanks for your replies Pterocarpous

I had a look at the links you provided and they offer good information on what to expect when replacing the CMOS battery.

I'll have to see what happens when I put a new one in my laptop but I have a feeling the CMOS memory has been wiped out too so I will have to manually fill in the correct information in the BIOS accordingly if the laptop powers up

I thought I had done all the hard part by removing the battery

Pterocarpous · January 2007

nonstop301 wrote:

Thanks for your replies Pterocarpous

I had a look at the links you provided and they offer good information on what to expect when replacing the CMOS battery.

I'll have to see what happens when I put a new one in my laptop but I have a feeling the CMOS memory has been wiped out too so I will have to manually fill in the correct information in the BIOS accordingly if the laptop powers up

I thought I had done all the hard part by removing the battery

That depends on your BIOS/CMOS. Some systems query the hardware on bootup and "fill in" the BIOS w/ these settings. (Much) older systems, however, will require you to enter this information on boot up. I don't think this is the case as your system did continue to boot. It just wouldn't hold the customized settings and the clock was wrong, right?

nonstop301 · January 2007

Yes that's right Pterocarpous.

The only thing that it kept losing in fact was the date/time. The rest of the settings were correct.

It is interesting to see what one comes across when they open up a laptop though, even if it's just for something as trivial as removing a CMOS battery

Pterocarpous · January 2007

nonstop301 wrote:

Yes that's right Pterocarpous...The only thing that it kept losing in fact was the date/time. The rest of the settings were correct.

Then you should be ok running it 'till you get a new battery. The most important thing you don't want getting discombobulated is your HDD geometry. If it's keeping this info, then you're in business. Keep in mind, some apps' may balk because of the time being off. Because of this, you might want to take the time to go ahead and set the time whenever you fire her up. You'll just have to do it every time is all.... {errrr.... I think I need to say "time" a few more "times" just in case... :bigggrin: }

nonstop301 wrote:

...It is interesting to see what one comes across when they open up a laptop though, even if it's just for something as trivial as removing a CMOS battery ...

It is isn't it. Gotta be careful, though. Stuff's squished together in there making it ticklish trying to get at things. I've been inside my old IBM so many times that I managed to cause a very small tear in a very thin and fragile (flat) cable that connects from the keyboard to the mobo. The tear was enough to transect one of the runs causing my track point (stick-in-the-middle-of-the-keyboard) pointing device not to work...:sad2: Now I'm stuck using a mouse...

nonstop301 · March 2007

Just thought I should mention (belatedly) that changing the CMOS battery did in fact resolve the problems and the laptop powers up and works properly once more

It wasn't easy finding a replacement CMOS battery for the laptop but I received one several weeks ago and when I put in place it did the trick and the laptop works well now.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice that was given to me in order to this successfully.

profdlp · March 2007

Glad you got it going.

laptop will not power up

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