[ubuntu-nz] poss HD issues

[Andrew Stephen]

On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 8:33 AM, Reinhold Pam Muller
<papabear- at xtra.co.nz> wrote:
[snip]
> The other half of the cpu-units have not been plugged in a electric socket
> in any shape or form, mainly cause i run out of power sockets
> Seems that some of these  pc's after having not being powered up for some
> time actually fail to power up properly.

This can be a problem if the CMOS battery on the motherboard has gone
flat, and if it has run flat for an long time the battery can leak and
damage the motherboard.

1.  Take the lid off each of the troublesome PCs and look for a small
battery.  If it has leaked you can try cleaning it up with some
isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds.  Use rubber gloves and avoid skin
contact.  There is a picture of damage from a leaky battery here:
http://oldcomputers.net/corrosion.html

2. For any boards that have not leaked, or do not appear to be
damaged, you may be able to replace the battery (though sometimes you
cannot).  Some machines may have irreversible damage from battery
leaks, others may be OK once the battery is replaced.

3. You will need to go into setup on each machine and make sure it has
the correct settings.  They will probably set sensible defaults
automatically once you enter setup.

In future, when storing computers without power for long periods, look
for and remove any batteries before putting them in storage.
Generally this problem won't occur if it is kept powered, as you have
discovered.

-- 
Andrew Stephen
http://www.evil.geek.nz/

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either
charming or tedious.
  - Oscar Wilde