laptop will not power up
nonstop301
51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
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.
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.
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Comments
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
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.
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
Are we looking at the same one? Here is what mine says:
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!
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
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....)
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....
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
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
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.