Portable BIOS battery: what it is for and where to find it

Do you know what the BIOS stack is for? If you have heard of it but don't have much idea what the laptop bios stack and where you can get it, in this article we are going to explain in detail what it is, the function it has in your computer and what it is for. We will also solve certain important questions related to it, such as where to find it and how to solve some possible problems.

What is the BIOS stack? 

Typically, the motherboard battery is a CR2032 lithium cell. Now, this is not a battery that can be recharged, so attempting to do so can lead to an explosion. Each motherboard has circuits which have the function of preventing these batteries from charging or discharging when the laptop is on. However, there are other models of battery cells which They can last longer or shorter periods. A CR2016 model lasts 40% less than the CR2032 model. When exposed to higher temperatures or longer shutdown times they shorten the life of these batteries.  

When this battery is replaced both the time the BIOS settings are will restore to default values. To prevent this from happening, the battery should be changed when the computer is connected but not turned on.  

In most cases, motherboards have a special space for the CMON battery, however, in smaller devices, be they laptops or tablets, and even small computers can have it. an external compartment for the BIOS battery.  

What is the portable BIOS battery for? 

These batteries have an important function when the system is at a low level, as they serve to maintain the clock's power and be able to store all the BIOS settings on the computer. However, in newer computers the BIOS battery has a less important function, since it only serves to power the system clock. On these plates the information of the BIOS It is stored within CHAOS RAM.  

These previously had the function of supplying the necessary energy to prevent the BIOS configuration from being lost when there was a total absence of energy, in the same way as the data in RAM.  

Al CMOS It is known as real-time clock or CTC, CMOS RAM, non-volatile BIOS memory, non-volatile RAM, or complementary symmetry metal oxide semiconductor. 

Bios Battery

Where to find it 

It is on desktop computers, it is very easy to get since it is found at first glance when you open the CPU and have access to the motherboard. On the other hand, in laptops in some cases it is located under the WiFi card, so it will be necessary to remove it to access the BIOS battery.  

Problems when the battery fails 

When a failure occurs on an older computer it will affect the BIOS configuration in CMOS. When this problem arises, an error will be displayed that will say “CMOS Battery Failure”, “CMOS Checksum Error” or “CMOS Read Error”. In the same way, errors can be visualized, one of the most common is “New CPU installed”, which causes the board to have no memory from which the CPU had previously been installed. Which ends up making it think that it is new at each start.  

In newer computers, they have the ability to store all BIOS information within non-volatile memory, allowing the computer to boot normally, but with the detail that it will not have the ability to keep the time log.