Member Avatar for viperman224

I changed the battery with a brand new one. It has a PIII 733mhz processor. 512 of ram. The battery is a CR2032. Could it be because I have a 133mhz front side bus processor running on pc100 ram? I doubt it because my friend has a PIII 933 running PC100. any ideas? I bought it used so anythings possible. its an Abit-WB6

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A few practical diagnostics to add to and ’s suggestions so the cause can be isolated quickly without guessing.

  1. Measure the cell with a digital multimeter out of the holder. A fresh button cell should be about 3.0 V; if it’s down around or below ~2.7–2.8 V, replace it.
  2. With the board unplugged and the cell installed, measure across the holder pads (positive to ground). If the cell reads fine out of the holder but the holder pads show a much lower voltage, the contact or solder joint is the culprit.
  3. Follow the + pad trace to the RTC/Super‑I/O VBAT point (service manual or a magnifier helps) and check voltage there. No voltage at the chip = open trace, cold joint, or broken connector between holder and chip.
  4. Do a brief load test to reveal high internal resistance: place a modest resistor (e.g., 330–470 ohm) across the cell for a second and watch the drop. A healthy cell stays near 3 V under that small load.
  5. To separate “battery/holder” from “board” problems, briefly feed a regulated 3.0 V supply to the battery pads (observe correct polarity). If settings hold under external 3 V but not with a real cell, the holder/contacts/cell are the issue; if they still fail, the RTC/CMOS circuitry is likely faulty.

If the holder or nearby solder joints look corroded or cracked, replacing the holder or reflowing the joints is inexpensive and often fixes it. Take ESD precautions, keep the board unplugged when soldering, and avoid prolonged load tests to prevent heating the cell. If the RTC/Super‑I/O itself has failed, repair is more complex and may not be economical on an older WB6 board.

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Member Avatar for TallCool1

I changed the battery with a brand new one. It has a PIII 733mhz processor. 512 of ram. The battery is a CR2032. Could it be because I have a 133mhz front side bus processor running on pc100 ram? I doubt it because my friend has a PIII 933 running PC100. any ideas? I bought it used so anythings possible. its an Abit-WB6

The FSB has nothing to do with the real-time clock. If the battery is good, it should be OK. Make sure that the CMOS-clear jumper is in the "normal" position and not the "clear" position and that the button cell is OK. I usually test them under load with a two-cell penlight bulb applied momentarily.

Does it hold the other settings? If so, the clock part may have locked up for some reason (unusual, but it does happen), requiring that the CMOS be cleared and re-doing the setup.

Another possibility is that the clock crystal is broken or loose. Most clock crystals are 32,768 Hz quartz "tuning forks" in a small, cylindrical metal tube located near the button cell. Look and see if it has come loose in handling from being bumped around--it happens. They are a standard part and can be found, for example, in a broken or dollar-store digital watch.

Member Avatar for viperman224

No, it does not keep any of the settings. If I unplug the machine for more then a few seconds it forgets everything. it will come back thinks it's january 1999 and the processor is a PII 233mhz but when its up it runs great.

Member Avatar for TallCool1

No, it does not keep any of the settings. If I unplug the machine for more then a few seconds it forgets everything. it will come back thinks it's january 1999 and the processor is a PII 233mhz but when its up it runs great.

Then the board "thinks" that the battery is dead or not connected. Check the battery itself and the jumper setings.

Member Avatar for DMR

Check the battery itself and the jumper setings.

Yes. The fact that you just bought the battery does not necessarily mean that it's good. CR2032s are mass-produced by the millions, so don't rule out the possibility that the particular battery you purchased was a bad one that slipped by quality control. ;)

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