cmos battery in HP DC7900

[Kester]

Hi,

I have a refurbished HP DC7900 SFF running Widows 7 SP1.

Everything is fine at present but as I have had the computer for nearly 18 months now, I may find the CMOS battery will soon be needing a change.  My questions relate to this situation.

1) I have not yet opened the computer so I am not sure of the battery model.  I have some CR2032 3v lithium cells as they fit my old Packard Bell XP computer.  It is a commonly used BIOS battery - does the HP DC7900 SFF also use it and if not what battery  does it use?

2) I have downloaded various HP documents relating to the HP DC7900 SFF but I am slightly confused by the battery changing information.  One document states that the BIOS sttings should be backed up as they will be lost during the replacement process.  Is this true as I don't remember doing this on other computers?  If so, how do I backup the settings?

Any other advice regarding CMOS battery changing for this model would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Yes you can use the 2032 battery you have on hand.

The only thing that will happen to the BIOS settings when you remove the battery is that they will be set to their defaults.

If you haven't changed any of the BIOS settings then there is no need to back any of the settings up.

I make a few changes to the BIOS settings in my dc7800 and I just remember what they are.

I have never backed up the BIOS settings before.

You will need to set the time and date after you replace the battery.

[Kester]

Hi Paul,

Just the answer I was hoping for.  I have made a minor change to the BIOS (changed boot order) so I can easily reset that without the need to save the BIOS settings.  Changing the time and date is easy enough too so the process looks pretty straightforward.

Thanks and best regards.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.