BIOS Flash, No battery?

[jbennet]

Ok i want to install XP on a laptop of mine
However to do this i need a BIOS update
However, to do the BIOS update I need a charged battery
However, thats why i need the update (the BIOS ACPI is broken)
And to install the update i need windows
Which takes me back to the start

damn thinkpad

[Teachingmyself]

Hey

This is a little trick that works 50% of the time although no-one can figure out why-

"The patented "battery flip""
1.Open the case(usual steps,power cord and battery out,discharge system for 10 seconds and ground yourself)

2.Locate the BIOS battery

3.Flip it over and insert the other way around

This also works for 30% of no POST issues but we honestly can't tell you why because we don't know.Its the pc equivalent of smacking the tv!

[jbennet]

no i mean the main battery (big one not the small mobo one)

[Teachingmyself]

Oh sorry.Thought you meant CMOS battery.

Is there any chance you could find the BIOS update for Linux?What I understand from you're post is windows XP won't install and it's xp you got the autoexec flash update for.

If you can get a Linux version(which do exist) and install Linux for 10 minutes,flash the BIOS and Robert's your father's brother,as they say in England =)

From what you're telling me that should fix the ACPI incompatability and allow the battery to charge,meaning the BIOS update will be stored in memory so uninstall Linux and install XP

Hope it works for you

[Teachingmyself]

Try this link :
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade

[jbennet]

i used a special bootablve bios flash disk that didnt work either, it said "you must have a fulyl charged battery to do this update" grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Teachingmyself]

Dang this is a hummdinger!
Can you give me the model number of your thinkpad and also the specific update you're trying to use?

[Teachingmyself]

Also can you remove the battery on your model or is it soldered into place?

[Teachingmyself]

Here's a link if your thinkpad is a 600 series
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IBM-THINKPAD-600-600E-600X-CMOS-BIOS-BATTERY-A_W0QQitemZ330056457489QQihZ014QQcategoryZ42173QQcmdZViewItem

[jbennet]

no its an r (p3m model)

the battery is removable but has expired and its £149 for a new one ( laptop is old 128mb ram with cosemetic damage so i dont wont to spend that much money on it)

its just i need this update to install XP

but it needs a fully charged battery (and yes, plugging it into AC doesnt work, it still says "you need a fully charged battery")

You think i could short the pins or something in order to trick it into thinking i have a full battery?

[Teachingmyself]

Ok here's a possibility-
check the voltage of the battery(usually 3-ish for a BIOS)
find a battery of equal voltage and try a reverse engineering job

I cant find a pic of the bios battery anywhere,if you can e-mail me a photo of it from a few different angles I can help you out with it.

Assuming it's an older wired model no need to even start looking til i take a look too.

Hopefully once whatever wires you have are snipped off it will be a simple solder job and easy to undo afterwards.I have a feeling the batteries aren't going to be that complex