CMOS Battery Lifespan

[craigiz1]

How long does the battery on the motherboard last? Or, when should I change it?
I did a search but didn't get what I was looking for.
Thanks

 

[Teacher_Doug]

How long does the battery on the motherboard last? Or, when should I change it?
I did a search but didn't get what I was looking for.
Thanks

I don't think there's a definite time duration. I've had an old 386 DX 40 running for 10 years on the same battery, and had to change a battery on a PII 200, which was only 1.5 years old.

 

[rlemieux]

your CMOS battery is given a 10 year life span. If you start losing BIOS settings then its time to change. Usually you never have to worry about it because most people dont own a motherboard for that long. Sometimes. like in Teacher_Doug's case it goes before its time but that doesnt happen too much.

 

[JaY_III]

were i am working right now, we have hundereds of systems coming in.... and the older ones, P1's i would say alot less that 1% of them have bad Batterys...
That is a problem that only comes up maybe every 2-3 weeks.

So the battery is something you dont really need to worry about at all. So like rlemieux said, not till you start losing BIOS settings, no need to change it.