Can a Dead Battery...?

Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...

"Red Green" wrote in message
...
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

No. It would power up and use default BIOS settings. At worst it would spin
up the fans and nothing else.

If the machine doesn't even blip then you could have a bad mainboard or bad
PSU.

Doubt that very much.,,
Have you checked the mains power cable & its main plug fuse ??
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(") mouse

No, that is not likely. Look elsewhere in your system for the problem.

--
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DaveW

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"Red Green" wrote in message
...
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...

Red Green wrote:
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...

Most will power up, but Packard Bell computers used to refuse to start
unless the battery was of sufficient voltage. Yours may be different.

On Oct 30, 1:15 pm, Red Green wrote:
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...
Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Shotgunning is recommended by those who never learn to those who
don't want to learn. Smarter, faster, and less expensive is to buy a
tool sold even in Kmart. Don't even remove the battery (since better
information means battery still connected). Measure that battery with
the $20 multimeter. For example, if the battery is a 3.0 v lithium
coin cell, then battery is perfectly good until voltage drops below
2.6 volts. If battery is at 2.8 volts, then consider a replacement in
the next six months.

Now you have a tool to find other reasons for no power. The less
than two minute procedure is posted in "When your computer dies
without warning....." starting 6 Feb 2007 in the newsgroup
alt.windows-xp at:
http://tinyurl.com/yvf9vh

Most important in your case are numbers on purple, gray, and green
wires both before and when power switch is pressed. To obtain better
informed replies, post those measurements here. To learn further
information from those numbers, get the better informed to reply.

Remember, a power supply is only one component of the 'power supply'
system. The naive will immediately replace a power supply rather than
discover which 'system' component is defective.

And finally, using that meter will result a significant
understanding of what happens when that power button is pressed.
Those who recommend shotgunning could not be bothered to know which is
why some will recommend spending more money and more time swapping
parts until half the computer is replaced.

Get the meter. Get numbers. Get replies that will identify the
suspect the first time. Save time. Save money. Even solve a future
problem before it can create a failure. Get the meter and first learn
what has failed.

Red Green wrote:
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...

Just to make sure we're on the same page: You're talking about the CMOS
battery on the mainboard, not a *laptop battery*, right?

w_tom wrote in
ups.com:

On Oct 30, 1:15 pm, Red Green wrote:
Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...
Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even
plugged in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Shotgunning is recommended by those who never learn to those who
don't want to learn. Smarter, faster, and less expensive is to buy a
tool sold even in Kmart. Don't even remove the battery (since better
information means battery still connected). Measure that battery with
the $20 multimeter. For example, if the battery is a 3.0 v lithium
coin cell, then battery is perfectly good until voltage drops below
2.6 volts. If battery is at 2.8 volts, then consider a replacement in
the next six months.

Now you have a tool to find other reasons for no power. The less
than two minute procedure is posted in "When your computer dies
without warning....." starting 6 Feb 2007 in the newsgroup
alt.windows-xp at:
http://tinyurl.com/yvf9vh

Most important in your case are numbers on purple, gray, and green
wires both before and when power switch is pressed. To obtain better
informed replies, post those measurements here. To learn further
information from those numbers, get the better informed to reply.

Remember, a power supply is only one component of the 'power supply'
system. The naive will immediately replace a power supply rather than
discover which 'system' component is defective.

And finally, using that meter will result a significant
understanding of what happens when that power button is pressed.
Those who recommend shotgunning could not be bothered to know which is
why some will recommend spending more money and more time swapping
parts until half the computer is replaced.

Get the meter. Get numbers. Get replies that will identify the
suspect the first time. Save time. Save money. Even solve a future
problem before it can create a failure. Get the meter and first learn
what has failed.


Shotgunning? I don't think so. Before even the first post I made I tested
that switch, it's wires to the mainboard as well as put the power supply in
another box. Also, pulled out all the drives, cards, memory so that
basically I was trying to power up a board with nothing connected to
eliminate non MB components. Yea, I've got like 3 multimeters I've
collected over the years. Those are the survivors anyway. They are quite
handy for debugging electrical problems in houses that I've rebuilt. Good
for working on cars, cable TV and fixing flashlights. And the leads on the
better meter totally disconnect. Great for cooking hot dogs in an outlet.

Got a good funny for them trick or treaters tomorrow too :-)
http://hostfile.org/TCoil.jpg

Red Green wrote:

Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...

low cmos batt produces different symptoms on different PCs, so
its possible, though most machines at least spin up.


NT

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:15:00 -0500, Red Green
wrote:

Grasping at straws that aren't even there question...

Anyone ever hear of a machine not powering up (like it wasn't even plugged
in, no clicking or anything) because of a bad battery?

Just curios if it's worth the few bucks to even try.

Red...


Seems unlikely, but I don't know about impossible.


Unplug PSU connector to motherboard and short the PS-On pin
to ground with a paperclip/etc... does it then turn on the
PSU and spin up the powered drives? If you've a multimeter
it would be good to take some voltage readings like 5VSB and
Power-Good before and after pressing power button and/or
shorting with paperclip, and 5V, 3.3V, 12V readings if it
turns on and keeps running.

It would have been better for you to provide a concise but
complete list of all parts including motherboard and PSU
make & model. A generic answer is seldom as good as one
where everyone knows the specific hardware involved.