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Mythbusting

mythbusting

Best Answer Dr. Schnellinger (Again) , 06 September 2019 - 04:48 PM

Hey it's me, good news. So I went to talk to the tech guy, I told him what you people told me, he replaced the battery pack and now the laptop works! It turns out that the problem was a d... Go to the full post »


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#1
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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Hi.

 

I need to clear out these doubts of mine.

 

Is the motherboard battery necessary for the computer to power on?

 

If it turns on without a battery, is it harmful to use the computer without a battery?

 

======================================================================

 

My situation:

 

I'm building a mini laptop (Intel Learning Series, EF10MI2), and I buy the pieces from a "tech guy".

 

I only needed 2 things for the laptop to turn on; RAM and "side board".

 

I told a friend of mine and he gifted me these 2 pieces.

 

I installed the necessary hardware for the laptop to power on, I tried to turn it on and nothing happens, it won't even show the LED when I connect the charger.

 

Days later I told my friend, he said it could be the battery (The big one) or the "side board", as we call it here (It's the board that has the power on button and the LEDs).

 

So he pulled out the "side board" from his laptop (Identical to my laptop) and installed it into my laptop, it worked, my laptop turned on, but it was in this "BIOS flash mode".

 

As we detected the problem, he pulled out his "side board" to place it back into his laptop, he didn't had any other working "side board". So I had to buy it from the "tech guy".

 

2 days ago, I took my laptop to the tech guy's place to continue shopping. I bought from him the speakers, the hard drive plug and the "side board". He said: "Ok, go get me the money while I install these things on your laptop."

 

I went to get the money and returned to pick up my laptop and go home.

 

When I arrived to my home, I plugged in the charger and pressed the power button and nothing happens, no LED, nothing. (I know the charger works).

 

I inmediately took my laptop back to the tech guy's place, told him the WHOLE story, and now he says "You deleted the BIOS when you powered on the laptop without the small battery, you must buy a small battery and install it, that is why the laptop won't power on".

 

He was about to close the shop (Friday), so I returned to my home, and on the way home I bought a small battery, then installed it on my laptop, and got the same result.

 

I think what he said is a total bullsh*t because there is only one way to get the "BIOS flash mode", the only way to get to that mode needs a FAT32 flash drive with the BIOS files, the charger and a USB keyboard. Then the user needs to plug in the keyboard and the flash drive, press Fn + R, plug in the charger and hold the power button for 5 seconds.

 

Also, the user can NOT delete the BIOS because it is read-only.

 

I think there is NO WAY to do that accidentally. I think he is playing dirty tricks to not replace the sh*tty hardware he sold me.

 

I'm planning to go there tomorrow on the morning (Monday) to fix that, but I want to be 100% sure that the "BIOS flash mode" situation was NOT something I caused. And I want to be sure to say: "You fool, the small battery is NOT a critical boot component".

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#2
starjax

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yes you need the little coin battery. I don't know much about the specifics of what your building, but the bios  and battery work pretty much the same everywhere. 

 

If the CMOS battery in your computer or laptop dies, the machine will be unable to remember its hardware settings when it is powered up. It is likely to cause problems with the day-to-day use of your system

 

You may need to enter the bios of your system and reset the settings and save for the system to work properly. 

 

For more details:  https://en.wikipedia...ile_BIOS_memory


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#3
iammykyl

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Starjax is correct.   A bit more info, 

https://www.lifewire...is-cmos-2625826

https://www.lifewire...-fix-it-4689193


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#4
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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I went to talk to him... it turns out that the "side board" wasn't damaged. The pulled out the one from his very own laptop and placed it on my laptop. Also he took my "side board" (Which I thought was dead) and placed it into his laptop and it works.

 

Good thing I didn't even try to argue today.

 

Well, the only thing left to test is the big battery.

 

Also, I think these laptops come with a CR2016 coin battery, I'm unsure if that is the correct model name, I've seen them and they're thinner than the CR2032.

 

I uploaded 2 screenshots. The board still has no hard drive, but that's not a critical boot component... right?

 

And it's missing some screws, I did that on purpose. For faster disarming.

 

The photo quality is... crappy, I know. It's nighttime... a BlackBerry 8520 camera... so... :yes:

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#5
iammykyl

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When you say ''big battery'' do you mean one of these Polymer Battery, - 2 cell battery 25 Wh (3400mAh), - 3 cell battery 37 Wh (3400mAh)?

A possible user manual, > https://www.manualsl...l?page=5#manual

Can't find info on which CMOS battery size, so you may have to purchase both and see which fits. 

Have you sourced/got the MB drivers?


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#6
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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Yes, when I say big battery I mean the Li-ion battery, model EF10-2S3200-G1L1, 7.4Vdc 3200mAh / 23.68Wh.

 

And yes, I also got the drivers, I just need the d*mn thing to power on. :smashcomp:

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#7
iammykyl

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Have you installed a CMOS battery? + sign facing up?

Is the battery pack fully charged?   What exactly happens when you press the power on button?

 

With the AC adapter plugged in, what happens when you press the power on button.


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#8
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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Yes. I installed the CMOS battery.

 

I have no idea if the battery pack is charged.

 

When I press the power on button nothing happens, not even a LED, nothing.

 

When I connect the ac adapter it should activate the "charging LED", which is red.

 

With the ac adapter connected, if I press the power on button nothing happens.

 

I think the battery pack is dead, I'll have my friend to test it into his laptop.


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#9
iammykyl

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When you plug in and turn on the AC adapter, the battery indicator light should be blue,, charged, or orange, low batter.

When you press the power on button, the indicator next to it should be blue.

Will wait for your test results. 


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#10
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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✓  Best Answer

Hey it's me, good news.

 

So I went to talk to the tech guy, I told him what you people told me, he replaced the battery pack and now the laptop works!

 

It turns out that the problem was a defective battery pack, not the "side board" nor the mainboard. Then we resume:

 

Problem: Laptop won't power on or charge the battery.

Solution: Replace battery pack.

 

Photos:

Sorry for the mess

 

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#11
iammykyl

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That's great news.

Can we mark this as solved? and if you get another issue, best to start a new topic.


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#12
Dr. Schnellinger (Again)

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*Sigh* yes you can mark it as solved.

 

I spoke too soon. The laptop was working at 100%, everything good.

 

The charger I use is not a charger designed for this model, it works with my other laptop which is from the same manufacturer.

 

Like 30mins after I took these 2 photos, the laptop fried. The speakers, the battery pack and who knows what else. It smells bad. :(

 

I'm kinda sure it was the charger who did this. At the tech guys place, he placed a hard drive and installed Windows 7, nicely, np problems. When I arrived home, I powered it on, watched some videos, then plugged in the charger... now it's dead.

 

I spent all my savings on this thing.


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#13
iammykyl

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Very unfortunate, and of course  disaster for you.Not only do adaptors differ in wattage, they can also have varying current output. .

On the bottom of the laptop there should be a lebel giving the charger information.


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