I bought an Acer 5100 laptop back in December. About a month after I
bought it, it started losing time, which is an indication of a CMOS battery
going bad. I immediately called Acer (not an easy thing to do, since they
don't give you their phone number in the PDF manual) and was informed that,
unlike every laptop I've ever owned, replacing the CMOS battery on this
system requires the motherboard to be completely replaced. I was also
informed this happens from time to time on a new Acer system...which didn't
make me happy.

I waited as long as I could because I didn't want to lose the system for
7-10 business days but finally had to send it back to Acer in Texas for them
to repair about two weeks ago. They sent it back to me today NOT repaired!
They said they "could not replicate the problem" which is sheer idiocy since
the time was 30 minutes off when I sent it to them, and so they just re-set
the time in the BIOS. Well when I got it back, it was already 58 minutes off
in time already.

Is replacing a motherboard something I could get a local computer repair
place to do for not a lot of money, or would it be just cheaper to sell this
system on EBay "as is" and see what I could get for it? Acer says they will
send FedEx out to pick up my system, but I do not have time to wait 7-10
business days (plus 5 days ground shipping each way) for them to take a
second crack at fixing this system. I don't have confidence they'll fix it
properly anyway. They didn't before.

Replacing the motherboard will probably cost about $600. In some cases,
getting a motherboard replaced costs more than the entire computer cost.

Laptops usually don't have coin cells in sockets like desktop
motherboards. In some cases, the batteries are rechargeable, in some
cases they are "long life" (intended to be 5 to 10 years) but SOLDERED
to the motherboard. Even when they are not difficult to replace, it
usually requires opening up the laptop case and therefore they are not
"user replaceable" (although motherboard replacement may not be required
either).

Send it back to Acer. The one thing you don't want to do is let the
warranty expire, because then you will never have any hope of getting it
fixed. Be sure that there is a prominent note describing the problem.

By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery,
although a battery is the 1st suspect.


Chris wrote:
> I bought an Acer 5100 laptop back in December. About a month after I
> bought it, it started losing time, which is an indication of a CMOS
> battery going bad. I immediately called Acer (not an easy thing to do,
> since they don't give you their phone number in the PDF manual) and was
> informed that, unlike every laptop I've ever owned, replacing the CMOS
> battery on this system requires the motherboard to be completely
> replaced. I was also informed this happens from time to time on a new
> Acer system...which didn't make me happy.
>
> I waited as long as I could because I didn't want to lose the system
> for 7-10 business days but finally had to send it back to Acer in Texas
> for them to repair about two weeks ago. They sent it back to me today
> NOT repaired! They said they "could not replicate the problem" which is
> sheer idiocy since the time was 30 minutes off when I sent it to them,
> and so they just re-set the time in the BIOS. Well when I got it back,
> it was already 58 minutes off in time already.
>
> Is replacing a motherboard something I could get a local computer
> repair place to do for not a lot of money, or would it be just cheaper
> to sell this system on EBay "as is" and see what I could get for it?
> Acer says they will send FedEx out to pick up my system, but I do not
> have time to wait 7-10 business days (plus 5 days ground shipping each
> way) for them to take a second crack at fixing this system. I don't have
> confidence they'll fix it properly anyway. They didn't before.

"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4626d8ef$0$4853$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Replacing the motherboard will probably cost about $600. In some cases,
> getting a motherboard replaced costs more than the entire computer cost.
>
> Laptops usually don't have coin cells in sockets like desktop
> motherboards. In some cases, the batteries are rechargeable, in some
> cases they are "long life" (intended to be 5 to 10 years) but SOLDERED to
> the motherboard. Even when they are not difficult to replace, it usually
> requires opening up the laptop case and therefore they are not "user
> replaceable" (although motherboard replacement may not be required
> either).
>
> Send it back to Acer. The one thing you don't want to do is let the
> warranty expire, because then you will never have any hope of getting it
> fixed. Be sure that there is a prominent note describing the problem.
>
> By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery, although
> a battery is the 1st suspect.
>
Thanks Barry. This battery is indeed soldered to the motherboard, which is
why the original tech support person I talked to said the MoBo had to be
replaced. I reset the time to the proper time, hoping that perhaps whatever
they did indeed fixed it and it wasn't a CMOS problem. There is an hour
difference between Texas and my location in VA, so maybe the person
repairing it was simply resetting it to Texas time. I'll wait a week to see
what happens. I have a year long warranty from the factory and then the
Circuit City warranty kicks in, and I have a 90 day warranty on the "work"
they did this time.

Once I calm down I might send it back to them and have them attempt to fix
it if it happens again this next week, as long as they get FedEx to come
pick it up from me on a Saturday, because I'm definitely not taking off work
for this. I may just sell this thing on EBay and start all over with another
brand.

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:49:38 -0400, Barry Watzman
<WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:

>By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery,
>although a battery is the 1st suspect.

What else would it be then Barry?

A friends desktop started losing time when it was only a couple of
years old. So I replaced the CMOS battery for her. But it still loses
time, and quite a lot.


Lars
Stockholm

Chris wrote:
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:4626d8ef$0$4853$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> Replacing the motherboard will probably cost about $600. In some
>> cases, getting a motherboard replaced costs more than the entire
>> computer cost.
>>
>> Laptops usually don't have coin cells in sockets like desktop
>> motherboards. In some cases, the batteries are rechargeable, in some
>> cases they are "long life" (intended to be 5 to 10 years) but SOLDERED
>> to the motherboard. Even when they are not difficult to replace, it
>> usually requires opening up the laptop case and therefore they are not
>> "user replaceable" (although motherboard replacement may not be
>> required either).
>>
>> Send it back to Acer. The one thing you don't want to do is let the
>> warranty expire, because then you will never have any hope of getting
>> it fixed. Be sure that there is a prominent note describing the problem.
>>
>> By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery,
>> although a battery is the 1st suspect.
>>
> Thanks Barry. This battery is indeed soldered to the motherboard, which
> is why the original tech support person I talked to said the MoBo had to
> be replaced. I reset the time to the proper time, hoping that perhaps
> whatever they did indeed fixed it and it wasn't a CMOS problem. There is
> an hour difference between Texas and my location in VA, so maybe the
> person repairing it was simply resetting it to Texas time. I'll wait a
> week to see what happens. I have a year long warranty from the factory
> and then the Circuit City warranty kicks in, and I have a 90 day
> warranty on the "work" they did this time.
>
> Once I calm down I might send it back to them and have them attempt to
> fix it if it happens again this next week, as long as they get FedEx to
> come pick it up from me on a Saturday, because I'm definitely not taking
> off work for this. I may just sell this thing on EBay and start all over
> with another brand.
Be sure to document your calls and everything else in case this turns sour.

To eliminate any other possible causes, try shutting down your machine
after making sure it is dead on time. Restart it immediatly to the bios
to check there that it still is on time. Shut it down without letting it
boot to Windows (you will not cause any file corruption since none is
loaded) and without letting it reboot (this may need that you first
remove the battery; then disconnecting the mains will prevent the
machine from rebooting).

12 hours later, restart it and again go directly to the bios without
letting the OS boot. Check the time. If it is late, then you know for
sure nothing else than the hardware is involved.

If the result is that the clock did not loose more than a couple
seconds, you know something is causing the problem in the software, and
this will be a relief since fixing this will not involve sending your
machine to Texas, but some detective work!

Regards

--
John Doue

Uzytkownik "Lars" <Lars@fake.com> napisal w wiadomosci
news:s0qe23tmsugsk7i7c7u90950k2pa6u74qn@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:49:38 -0400, Barry Watzman
> <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery,
>>although a battery is the 1st suspect.
>
> What else would it be then Barry?
>


If you don't mind ... before Barry answers ...

resonance frequency of RTC generator might have changed for some reasons
(one of them is shift of stabilizing point of voltage regulator, 2nd one is
change of capacitance of resonance circuit, to name the few) - but if it
doesn't get to nominal after changing battery, probably the mobo should be
replaced, I don't think services replace IC on mobos anymore.

BTW - how much slow is your RTC per 24 hours ?

In message <XpzVh.7371$xL6.1845@trnddc05>
at 01:16:39 on Thu, 19 Apr 2007, Chris <CJMARTIN04@verizon.net> wrote
> I bought an Acer 5100 laptop back in December. About a month after I
>bought it, it started losing time, which is an indication of a CMOS
>battery going bad. I immediately called Acer (not an easy thing to do,
>since they don't give you their phone number in the PDF manual) and was
>informed that, unlike every laptop I've ever owned, replacing the CMOS
>battery on this system requires the motherboard to be completely
>replaced. I was also informed this happens from time to time on a new
>Acer system...which didn't make me happy.
>
> I waited as long as I could because I didn't want to lose the system
>for 7-10 business days but finally had to send it back to Acer in Texas
>for them to repair about two weeks ago. They sent it back to me today
>NOT repaired! They said they "could not replicate the problem" which is
>sheer idiocy since the time was 30 minutes off when I sent it to them,
>and so they just re-set the time in the BIOS. Well when I got it back,
>it was already 58 minutes off in time already.
>
That sounds quite bad, but you can probably synchronise with a time
server, which shouldn't be too difficult to do
--
Mike News

In message <f07u67$217$1@atlantis.news.tpi.pl>
at 16:25:34 on Thu, 19 Apr 2007, N610c <anyuser@anycompany.com> wrote
>BTW - how much slow is your RTC per 24 hours ?
>
Looks like it loses 2 mins per day
--
Mike News

Chris wrote:
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:4626d8ef$0$4853$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

>>
> Thanks Barry. This battery is indeed soldered to the motherboard, which
> is why the original tech support person I talked to said the MoBo had to
> be replaced. I reset the time to the proper time, hoping that perhaps
> whatever they did indeed fixed it and it wasn't a CMOS problem. There is
> an hour difference between Texas and my location in VA, so maybe the
> person repairing it was simply resetting it to Texas time. I'll wait a
> week to see what happens. I have a year long warranty from the factory
> and then the Circuit City warranty kicks in, and I have a 90 day
> warranty on the "work" they did this time.

Check your Circuit City warranty carefully. It may entitle you to get a
replacement system or a full refund right now.

Phil Sherman

"Chris" <CJMARTIN04@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:OYAVh.4837$nU4.3730@trnddc03...
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:4626d8ef$0$4853$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> Replacing the motherboard will probably cost about $600. In some cases,
>> getting a motherboard replaced costs more than the entire computer cost.
>>
>> Laptops usually don't have coin cells in sockets like desktop
>> motherboards. In some cases, the batteries are rechargeable, in some
>> cases they are "long life" (intended to be 5 to 10 years) but SOLDERED to
>> the motherboard. Even when they are not difficult to replace, it usually
>> requires opening up the laptop case and therefore they are not "user
>> replaceable" (although motherboard replacement may not be required
>> either).
>>
>> Send it back to Acer. The one thing you don't want to do is let the
>> warranty expire, because then you will never have any hope of getting it
>> fixed. Be sure that there is a prominent note describing the problem.
>>
>> By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery, although
>> a battery is the 1st suspect.
>>
> Thanks Barry. This battery is indeed soldered to the motherboard, which is
> why the original tech support person I talked to said the MoBo had to be
> replaced. I reset the time to the proper time, hoping that perhaps
> whatever they did indeed fixed it and it wasn't a CMOS problem. There is
> an hour difference between Texas and my location in VA, so maybe the
> person repairing it was simply resetting it to Texas time. I'll wait a
> week to see what happens. I have a year long warranty from the factory and
> then the Circuit City warranty kicks in, and I have a 90 day warranty on
> the "work" they did this time.
>
> Once I calm down I might send it back to them and have them attempt to fix
> it if it happens again this next week, as long as they get FedEx to come
> pick it up from me on a Saturday, because I'm definitely not taking off
> work for this. I may just sell this thing on EBay and start all over with
> another brand.

So your complaining in this newsgroup that they didn't fix your problem when
in fact you don't know whether they did or not because of the 1 hour time
difference.

"Whomever" <alterego@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:4627e6bb$0$9971$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> "Chris" <CJMARTIN04@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:OYAVh.4837$nU4.3730@trnddc03...
>>
>> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
>> news:4626d8ef$0$4853$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>>> Replacing the motherboard will probably cost about $600. In some cases,
>>> getting a motherboard replaced costs more than the entire computer cost.
>>>
>>> Laptops usually don't have coin cells in sockets like desktop
>>> motherboards. In some cases, the batteries are rechargeable, in some
>>> cases they are "long life" (intended to be 5 to 10 years) but SOLDERED
>>> to the motherboard. Even when they are not difficult to replace, it
>>> usually requires opening up the laptop case and therefore they are not
>>> "user replaceable" (although motherboard replacement may not be required
>>> either).
>>>
>>> Send it back to Acer. The one thing you don't want to do is let the
>>> warranty expire, because then you will never have any hope of getting it
>>> fixed. Be sure that there is a prominent note describing the problem.
>>>
>>> By the way, the problem could be something other than a battery,
>>> although a battery is the 1st suspect.
>>>
>> Thanks Barry. This battery is indeed soldered to the motherboard, which
>> is why the original tech support person I talked to said the MoBo had to
>> be replaced. I reset the time to the proper time, hoping that perhaps
>> whatever they did indeed fixed it and it wasn't a CMOS problem. There is
>> an hour difference between Texas and my location in VA, so maybe the
>> person repairing it was simply resetting it to Texas time. I'll wait a
>> week to see what happens. I have a year long warranty from the factory
>> and then the Circuit City warranty kicks in, and I have a 90 day warranty
>> on the "work" they did this time.
>>
>> Once I calm down I might send it back to them and have them attempt to
>> fix it if it happens again this next week, as long as they get FedEx to
>> come pick it up from me on a Saturday, because I'm definitely not taking
>> off work for this. I may just sell this thing on EBay and start all over
>> with another brand.
>
> So your complaining in this newsgroup that they didn't fix your problem
> when in fact you don't know whether they did or not because of the 1 hour
> time difference.
No I am complaining because according to the letter they enclosed with the
laptop, they didn't even check what I told them was the problem in the first
place. They further gave me a bogus explanation there was nothing to fix
because they couldn't "replicate" the problem. Even the customer support
person I called at Acer yesterday laughed at that one. The machine when I
sent it off was losing several minutes per day and was already somewhere
around 30 minutes behind. There is no logical way this machine didn't
continue to lose time on the way and when it got there. I've also talked to
several people who are in the PC business and they've all been shocked when
I told them the CMOS battery could not be replaced because it was soldered
to the motherboard. I've replaced CMOS batteries before on laptops, and this
is the first one I've owned that a user is unable to do that. Acer should
also be ashamed at their telephone support in the first place. A user
shouldn't have to Google a tech support phone number because it's not
supplied in the manual. Every site I've seen that ranks PC telephone support
has given them F's.

As of now, the PC between this morning and now is 1 minute behind where it
was this morning. It was dropping 10-20 seconds even last night as I was
using it.