[sluggy]

Hi, I have a compaq presario desktop pc SR1620NX This Brand and I think I need to get a new motherboard because I believe my current one is dying. Any suggestions on which motherboard I should be in the market for? I'm really clueless when it comes to hardware, so I don't know what is compatible with what, and if I need to get a new video card or more RAM or any of that, if I update my motherboard. I am not looking to spend over $100, but if I have to I can. My ideal price range is somewhere between 50 and 80 bucks. Thanks guys!

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What makes you think the board is dying?

[Neil Jones]

What makes you think the board is dying?

[sluggy]

What makes you think the board is dying?

After about 15 minutes of my computer being on I get a lot of strange things happening. The cursor blinks extremely fast, the key repetition is absurd. Everytime I press a letter key it shows up about 15 times. The clock goes by at an incredible rate of speed and I have to restart. Upon restart the clock is set to a random date and time. (just now it said December 31st at 5:41 am, when it actuality it is August 27th, 12:30 p.m.) I searched these symptoms on google and the only things I could really find to match this were issues with the motherboard battery dying. If you think it's something else, please let me know, I would love to just be able to fix this instead of having to replace anything.

[Neil Jones]

So replace the CMOS battery then. Pick these up from any computer shops for peanuts (ask very nicely and you'll probably get it for nothing).

[sluggy]

So replace the CMOS battery then. Pick these up from any computer shops for peanuts (ask very nicely and you'll probably get it for nothing).

I don't know how. I read that some of them are soldered on, and some are alkaline and could leak upon removal.

[Troy]

Okay this really is a simple task, if you are any way technically inclined, you could do it yourself, or as Neil has said, they are cheap to buy from a shop and for a small fee they would probably do it for you.

Shut down your computer, disconnect the power cable, then open the side of the case up. You are looking for a little silver battery that looks like the one in this picture: link. Just make sure you touch the chassis first to get rid of any static on your body, then take this battery out. Leave it for about 15 minutes and then put the new battery in. Then put the case side back on, plug it in and turn it on. You might get a CMOS checksum error or something like that, hit the button that enters the BIOS and put in the date/time, and find an option that lets you load default or, preferably, optimal values. Then save and exit, and all should be sweet.

[sluggy]

Okay this really is a simple task, if you are any way technically inclined, you could do it yourself, or as Neil has said, they are cheap to buy from a shop and for a small fee they would probably do it for you.

Shut down your computer, disconnect the power cable, then open the side of the case up. You are looking for a little silver battery that looks like the one in this picture: link. Just make sure you touch the chassis first to get rid of any static on your body, then take this battery out. Leave it for about 15 minutes and then put the new battery in. Then put the case side back on, plug it in and turn it on. You might get a CMOS checksum error or something like that, hit the button that enters the BIOS and put in the date/time, and find an option that lets you load default or, preferably, optimal values. Then save and exit, and all should be sweet.

Thanks a lot. It sounds simple enough. I will be doing this either today or tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

[Troy]

No worries, any problems with the procedure, feel free to give us a yell.

For the price of a small battery, if this fixes your problem then you are laughing, but if not, then at least you know you've tried before forking out the big dollars...