Thread: Computer battery problems

I had a problem a few months ago with my computer battery. As I did not like the idea of opening the case and changing the battery, I found a temporary solution until my son came to do it for me. This was to close down the computer as normal but leave the power on at the mains socket. This trickle feed of power has worked for me and has saved altering the time and date every time I switch the computer on.

That's a very good tip but readers should bear in mind that it won't work for all computers. The reason it works is that most computers use what's called the ATX design will draw a small amount of power from the mains even when they're fully switched off. This allows them to do clever things such as starting when you press a key or click the mouse, and it also means, as you've noticed, that enough power is still flowing to keep the settings in memory. However, readers with older computers will find that it doesn't work because, when these PCs are switched off, they're really switched off regardless of whether the mains socket is switched on, and no power flows through them, meaning they'll lose their settings.