T20 Can't permanently set time & date

[dpharris]

I'm getting really frustrated! Bought a T20 with 256mb & no operating system at our local State surplus warehouse, intending to install Xubuntu on it. Both the regular battery and the CMOS battery were dead, so I replaced both, charged the battery, and installed XUbuntu 8.04.

Even after installing the new CMOS backup battery, every time I power it off I get errors 0251 (CMOS checksum error) and 0271 (date error), and have to enter Setup to set the date. None of the hardware passwords have ever been set.

The system simply won't save the new CMOS settings after a save-and-boot after the date has been reset. This is the only real problem with this machine, which I use in my taxicab every day.

How do I get it to save the updated time & date, and other BIOS info?

[RealBlackStuff]

It sometimes happens that the contacts in the white socket for the CMOS battery come loose, or the plug is not in properly. You may want to check that.
The replacement CMOS battery could also be dead (not unheard of).
It should give +3V when using a multimeter.

[George]

You might try removing the keyboard to obtain a "top down" look at the small socket that the cmos plug is connected to. It is very easy to "snug" this connection from the top, also. I hope this helps.