Thinkpads Forum

What is the proper CMOS battery for a T60P, and how often should it be replaced?

Thanks

Hi, the T60/T60p uses a CR2032 watch battery, the same CMOS battery used in the T4x and R5x series. Even the connector attaching the battery is the same. You can find a cheap one on Ebay which includes the connector, or salvage the old connector, go down to your local drug store and pick up a CR2032 battery, remove the old CMOS, carefully cut open the yellow plastic encasement, use a small pliers to pry loose the lightly soldered metal contacts, being sure to note Positive and Negative, flatten those metal contacts again and lay them flat on the battery, observing polarity, Positive one side, negative on the other side, use some electric tape to wrap the whole thing up and reconnect.

This simple technique should work to the best of my knowledge. It works fine on 600 series CMOS and T20 CMOS batteries. Never had to do it on a T60 yet. Not sure how often it should be replaced. I'm sure one of the more veteran members of the Forum will come along soon

Best wishes,
Daniel.

The CMOS Battery for your T60p ought to last several more years.

I own two T30's. One of them I use nearly everyday on an AC powder adapter. The other, I have used as a backup machine. The machine that I use everyday is still running with the original CMOS battery. I replaced the CMOS battery in the machine that I rarely use about 6 months ago.

Don't arrive at the conclusion that the CMOS battery is re-chargable. I believe that the battery failed sooner, because of its machine's inactivity.

This is probably not the best advice, but I purchased a used battery from a computer recycler obtained from a T500.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=94853

Average life for a CR2032 CMOS battery is ~5 years.
When you replace one, make sure there are no BIOS passwords, otherwise you might get a nasty surprise.

I bought my T60P used. I have never created a BIOS password. How would I check to see if the previous owner had? Is it in the BIOS setup menu somewhere?

Thanks

If you can access your BIOS and make changes, then you don't have a password. It's those who have never even tried to access the BIOS that might be in for a surprise.

Neil wrote:If you can access your BIOS and make changes, then you don't have a password. It's those who have never even tried to access the BIOS that might be in for a surprise.

I can go skiing on my BIOS.

But seriously, I have gone into BIOS, changed display attributes, and other things. So I guess I'm good to go.

I believe the T60P 2623 DDU is from 2007. When I get a chance, I'll flip it over to see if there is a build date near the SN.

Thanks