# laptop battery replacement and data loss



## swiftstu (Sep 11, 2007)

Hi guys.

Wonder if you can help. I have a Dell inspiron 5100 which is very old, has a very old battery. I am getting the orange flashing battery light meaning that it is coming to the end of its useful life, and i'll be buying another soon.

My question is; If I take the old battery out and then put the new one in will it wipe the hard drive. I cannot guarantee I can keep the AC power supply plugged in, as it needs a wiggle from time to time to keep charging.

So essentially: If the laptop has no power to it, and I take the battery out. Will it wipe it??

really appreciate any help!

Stu


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

Hi Stu,

So what you are asking (just to clarify) is replacing the battery will wipe out the hard drive? My answer is NO, replacing the battery will NOT wipe out the hard drive. If you want to... remove the hard drive first before replacing the battery (although not needed).


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## swiftstu (Sep 11, 2007)

TriggerFinger said:


> Hi Stu,
> 
> So what you are asking (just to clarify) is replacing the battery will wipe out the hard drive? My answer is NO, replacing the battery will NOT wipe out the hard drive. If you want to... remove the hard drive first before replacing the battery (although not needed).


Hi TriggerFinger,

Thanks for the reply, but what i'm asking is: if there is no power at all (either from battery or AC, mains)- Will the laptop lose all its data?

I cannot guarantee a constant power supply (mains) when I take the battery out due to an dodgy charger. So there may be a couple of mins when there is no battery, and no power from the mains charger. I'm aware that the actual act of changing the battery alone will not wipe the data

cheers; I hope that cleared up the question.


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

swiftstu said:


> Hi TriggerFinger,
> 
> Thanks for the reply, but what i'm asking is: if there is no power at all (either from battery or AC, mains)- Will the laptop lose all its data?
> 
> ...



In your given case, data already written on the hard drive remains in the hard drive regardless if laptop loses power or not. In fact, you may physically remove the hard drive out of the laptop and still have your important files in the hard drive.


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## swiftstu (Sep 11, 2007)

TriggerFinger said:


> In your given case, data already written on the hard drive remains in the hard drive regardless if laptop loses power or not. In fact, you may physically remove the hard drive out of the laptop and still have your important files in the hard drive.


Thanks TriggerFinger. That's just the answer I was looking (hoping) for.


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