Can CMOS battery be changed early without messing up BIOS?

Delly10 said:

I have a laptop that I bought 7 years ago, and have heard that the CMOS battery could go dead and need to be replaced, but then I'd have to reset my BIOS settings.
I'm now wondering if it would be possible to just go ahead and replace the CMOS battery early and not let the BIOS settings get messed up by letting the battery go dead. If I remove the battery while it's still good and then replace it real quick with a fresh one, would the BIOS settings be preserved?

Depends if you have easy access to it and you have power from battery or power supply.

I recommend you take photos with a cell phone of each page and replace the CMos battery with the computer without battery and power supply off. Once replaced, set BIOS looking at the photos taken earlier.

On a Laptop there is almost nothing to set other than date and time.

Delly10 said:

I've had the back of the computer removed before and I think the CMOS was easily accessible. I was just curious as to whether the BIOS settings would be lost if the battery was removed for just a few seconds while making the change to a new one.

Your idea about taking pics of the BIOS screen pages is a good one. I've never done anything with BIOS before, so I'm not familiar with what's involved or how hard it is to reset them after a dead CMOS incident. That's partly why I'm thinking of getting a new battery and putting it in early, but only if it would mean not messing the BIOS up. If it does, then just waiting for the old one to go dead is probably the way to go.

Once you remove the battery any previous settings will be lost. If you didn't make any changes then that should be no problem. Taking pictures of the BIOS screen is good insurance in case there any important settings that need to be set again.

BTW, I make very very few changes in the BIOS settings so I have no problem with this. I have lost track of how many times I had to replace a BIOS battery. Some were even after the original battery was dead.

BIOS battery can last for more than five years. If the date and time isn't changed after a long period with the computer off the battery is still good.
Desktops has more BIOS options so it is more tetchy to set
On a Laptop there is almost nothing to set other than date and time.

Delly10 said:

If I remove the battery while it's still good and then replace it real quick with a fresh one

You absolutely can not move faster than electricity. ^^

Even Bruce Lee or Superman could not move faster than electricity.
Electricity is much, much, much faster than... a speeding bullet.

When i change battery on devices that will go down in encrypted lockdown protective mode if battery is removed.. i connect an external power source to the soldering-points.. then i remove the battery and put in a new one and then detach my external power source again.
works every time.

Marie SWE said:

When i change battery on devices that will go down in encrypted lockdown protective mode if battery is removed.. i connect an external power source to the soldering-points.. then i remove the battery and put in a new one and then detach my external power source again.
works every time.

Yep... that will work. You could hook up another 3.3v DC battery (or power source), to the solder points, and then remove the battery, without losing the BIOS settings. Even superman could do that.

Ghot said:

Yep... that will work. You could hook up another 3.3v DC battery (or power source), to the solder points, and then remove the battery, without losing the BIOS settings. Even superman could do that.

Yeah.. the question is.. would superman come up with the idea in the first place.. He dont seem to super bright in the movies.. just strong and fast

Delly10 said:

I have a laptop that I bought 7 years ago, and have heard that the CMOS battery could go dead and need to be replaced, but then I'd have to reset my BIOS settings.

Hmm, my oldest laptop dates back to 2009 and I have several more that are nearly as old. I've never had to change a CMOS battery on any of my laptops.