Hi,

I need to replace the RTC (CMOS) battery in my WinBook XL2 laptop.

I googled for the location of this battery without any luck.

I could NOT find a Service Manual.

Does anyone know where the RTC battery is located?

Thank You in advance, John

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<jaugustine@verizon.net> wrote:

WinBook XL2 laptop

I have not seen a laptop that had a removable access panel on the
backside the let you get at the CMOS battery (used to retain BIOS
settings during power down, and also supply power to the RTC chip). You
have to disassemble the laptop.

Sometimes you can find a video on how to disassemble a particular brand
and model of laptop at Youtube. I didn't find one on just the WinBook
XL2 laptop, but disassembly will be similar to other laptops.

On a general search, I did find:

https://www.justanswer.com/computer/5mug8-need-replace-cmos-battery-winbook-xl2.html

The author notes there are 3 different types of batteries employed in
this brand and model, so you can't buy a replacement CMOS battery until
you open the case to see what type was used.

If you don't feel capable of taking apart a laptop which can be quite
involved, find out what a computer repair shop will charge.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 7/9/2024 1:15 PM, jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:

Hi,

I need to replace the RTC (CMOS) battery in my WinBook XL2 laptop.

I googled for the location of this battery without any luck.

I could NOT find a Service Manual.

Does anyone know where the RTC battery is located?

Thank You in advance, John

26 years ago.

The available info is useless.

I might as well be looking for Pokemon.

The available info is, the XL2 is "full of screws",
sure, it has a wealth of covers on the bottom, but they
left the covers ajar in the photo and did not show what
was underneath. Since one commenter did not seem to
find it on the bottom side, it could be on the top side.

The next topic, is form factor. It is the year 1998 or so.
That means it could be a chipset from before the 440BX.
Would they be using a tall black DIP package and a CMOS clock chip,
or would this be the shift to CR2032/LR2032. Apparently
the battery pack is suspected to be NiMH and not Lithium.
Maybe they had learned their lesson about NiCD at that point
("leaking"), and NiMH is likely safer. The CMOS battery could be
a LR2032 (three day runtime, rechargeable). It would
hold up well as long as the main battery was charged. But
apparently, still, nobody laid eyes on it. It may be one
of those jobs where you take it ENTIRELY apart. But I would
bank on it being on top-side, because "putting it on the
bottom is... too easy". I mean, lots of other replaceable
assemblies are on the bottom, so why not put it on top
and under some metal cover or the like ?

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 7/9/2024 2:58 PM, VanguardLH wrote:

<jaugustine@verizon.net> wrote:

WinBook XL2 laptop

I have not seen a laptop that had a removable access panel on the
backside the let you get at the CMOS battery (used to retain BIOS
settings during power down, and also supply power to the RTC chip). You
have to disassemble the laptop.

Sometimes you can find a video on how to disassemble a particular brand
and model of laptop at Youtube. I didn't find one on just the WinBook
XL2 laptop, but disassembly will be similar to other laptops.

On a general search, I did find:

https://www.justanswer.com/computer/5mug8-need-replace-cmos-battery-winbook-xl2.html

The author notes there are 3 different types of batteries employed in
this brand and model, so you can't buy a replacement CMOS battery until
you open the case to see what type was used.

If you don't feel capable of taking apart a laptop which can be quite involved, find out what a computer repair shop will charge.

According to the BIOS string, it uses 440BX chipset, like my first PC compatible desktop.
The number of variables then, is about as much as later computers (CR2032 [no-recharge]
or LR2032 [3 day, rechargeable from main pack] ). There's no particular reason it would be a DallasSemi DIP clock&battery. Again, given the era, did LR2032 even exist back then ? My 440BX desktop is CR2032, and it would be flat by now. But that doesn't mean anything to a laptop project.

https://ubbcentral.com/store/item/Winbook-XL2-Pentium-II-Retro-Gaming-ATI-Rage-3D-Pro-GPU-266Mhz-192MB-RAM-DVD-_325726295762.html

What I don't understand, is why people cannot visually identify it.
It's a $3100 laptop. Shirley someone has had it apart to repair it.
At that price, you could afford a new CR2032 :-)

Search engines absolutely refuse to show a picture of the motherboard.
I guess they never ever got parted out.

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

<jaugustine@verizon.net> wrote:

WinBook XL2 laptop

I have not seen a laptop that had a removable access panel on the
backside the let you get at the CMOS battery (used to retain BIOS
settings during power down, and also supply power to the RTC chip). You
have to disassemble the laptop.

Sometimes you can find a video on how to disassemble a particular brand
and model of laptop at Youtube. I didn't find one on just the WinBook
XL2 laptop, but disassembly will be similar to other laptops.

On a general search, I did find:

https://www.justanswer.com/computer/5mug8-need-replace-cmos-battery-winbook-xl2.html

The author notes there are 3 different types of batteries employed in
this brand and model, so you can't buy a replacement CMOS battery until
you open the case to see what type was used.

If you don't feel capable of taking apart a laptop which can be quite
involved, find out what a computer repair shop will charge.

According to the BIOS string, it uses 440BX chipset, like my first PC compatible desktop. The number of variables then, is about as much as
later computers (CR2032 [no-recharge] or LR2032 [3 day, rechargeable
from main pack] ). There's no particular reason it would be a
DallasSemi DIP clock&battery. Again, given the era, did LR2032 even
exist back then ?

Don't remember the chipset, but I remember some CMOS batteries back then
where heatshrink wrapped (to hold together set of button batteries) with
a twisted pair going to a header on the mobo.

My 440BX desktop is CR2032, and it would be flat by
now. But that doesn't mean anything to a laptop project.

https://ubbcentral.com/store/item/Winbook-XL2-Pentium-II-Retro-Gaming-ATI-Rage-3D-Pro-GPU-266Mhz-192MB-RAM-DVD-_325726295762.html

What I don't understand, is why people cannot visually identify it.
It's a $3100 laptop.

That might've been list price way back then (25 years ago). A similar
laptop with same specs today would be a lot cheaper. When I first
bought an IBM XT PC, it cost over $2600 (I had to put it together), but
I opted for a *huge* 10 MB HDD, came with all of 128KB of RAM, and I
added a monster 1 MB of RAM (using QEMM to get past the 640KB barrier)
on a full length card where I had to buy the chips in tubes to plug into
all the sockets on the daughercard. The box for the manuals was bigger
than the box for the computer. A $200 desktop today would far exceed
the specs of that ancient 42-year old IBM behemoth.

The URL you gave for the 25-year old laptop lists it for $80: 38 times reduction in price. Maybe the Smithsonian would pay more.

Shirley someone has had it apart to repair it.
At that price, you could afford a new CR2032 :-)

I think the OP's concern is identifying and knowing where is the CMOS
battery, and how to disassemble the case to get at it. Could take more
work and tools if the battery or its leads are soldered onto the mobo.

Search engines absolutely refuse to show a picture of the motherboard.
I guess they never ever got parted out.

Yeah, back then Youtube wasn't yet a thing (arrived 7 years later) for
someone to save disassembly videos.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/338374/Winbook-Xl2.html

That has an online copy of the manual for the Winbook XL2; however, user manuals rarely give any details of components inside, like the CMOS
battery location, and the form of the battery.

Often service manuals are absent for laptops, or any device that the manufacturer does not consider user-serviceable.

When searching for a battery replacement, hits are for the main battery,
not the CMOS battery. If the laptop is so old (and it is) that the CMOS battery is dead, the OP should be also be looking to replace the main
battery, too. However, main batteries for such old model laptops would
either be used, or decades old, and unreliable for capacity (how much
charge they'll hold). If the 7.8 pound ancient laptop really isn't used anymore as a portable computer, the OP could just leave it plugged into
its A/C adapter cord into a small UPS (to cover power outages) on an always-live wall outlet (not switched) to keep the laptop always
powered. The CMOS table remains alive while the laptop has power. The
CMOS battery is only used when the laptop is unpowered. So, if not
needed for portability, just leave the laptop powered 24x7.

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