# low system battery



## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

Hello, I was getting an error when I started my computer saying low system battery and to press f1 so I did this for a while then went and changed the battery, well after changing the battery my computer would not start up but go to the dell logo then to a blank screen with a blinking cursor. After about 5 or 10 minutes it will start up but I wonder what has caused this? I put the old battery back in thinking it was something to do with that but this did not work.  I called Dell and they said it was either the hard drive or the mother board but I am just not sure and wonder why this would all happen for just changing the battery. I appreciate any help anyone can give me on this.

Thanks
Denise


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## manic (Aug 2, 2005)

Dell support doesnt sound to savy about pc's, what a shocker.
When you replaced the battery you cleared cmos. You need to go
into bios and make adjustments, as per your system specs.


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I went into set up and looked in the manual and all the settings are ok, unless there is something else I need to do? Any suggestions?

Denise


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

is this a laptop ?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

no, desktop


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

battery installed with the right side up?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

yes it is installed right.


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

Any ideas as to what I need to do?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I posted this under the xp forum so now I am posting this here.
I am getting an error when I started my computer saying low system battery and to press f1 so I did this for a while then went and changed the battery, well after changing the battery my computer would not start up but go to the dell logo then to a blank screen with a blinking cursor. After about 5 or 10 minutes it will start up but I wonder what has caused this? I put the old battery back in thinking it was something to do with that but this did not work. I called Dell and they said it was either the hard drive or the mother board but I am just not sure and wonder why this would all happen for just changing the battery. I appreciate any help anyone can give me on this.

Thanks
Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Unplug the computer and remove the battery, leave it this way for 15 minutes then put the battery back in making sure it is installed the right way, writing up. Plug it back in and start it up and enter setup, this is done by tapping either the F1 or F2 key repeatedly when you start the computer. When in setup load the defaults, save and exit.

The computer should restart and boot to windows, if not explain what it now does and we will try some other things


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

If I take the battery out will I lose any information on my compter? 

Thanks
Denise


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

Ok I did this and it is doing the same thing, blinking cursor on blank screen but will eventually start after several minutes. What can you suggest now?

Thank you
Denise


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

tap f8 when booting and try
last known good configuration


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I did this as you said and it did not work.


Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Look on top of the hardrive for a brand name the go to the manufactures website and download their diagnostic tools. Create a bootable floppy or cd and test the drive


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

Not sure I know how to create bootable floppy but will see what I can do.

Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Just follow the instructions its pretty simple at least with western digital and seagate drives.

What hardrive do you have?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

according to dell website I have a seagate


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

could it be the motherboard?


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Seagate has really made this a pain to get the download but her you go,,,,

Go here http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools/

Click on "Download SeaTools for DOS now!" when you see the " seatools endusers licence agrement" click accept. Now you have to register just put your email address in thats all you need.

On the next page under "Floppy Diskette Creator" click on "EN" then in the next box click save and save it to your desktop.

Once downloaded to your desktop double click the icon and follow the instructions, then after you create the floppy place it in your drive and reboot the computer.

Post back with results, good luck!


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

networkmom said:


> could it be the motherboard?


Possible but I we have to test one thing at a time and in most cases a drive will fail before a motherboard, if we determine its a bad drive I will give you instructions on how to order and install it. Will cost under a 100 bucks maybe as low as 50 depending on the drive you want/need.

If its the motherboard I don't think its worth fixing, What model dell is it?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I followed the instructions and then restarted my computer a screen came up saying something about the software on the disk but then that is all I had no choices as to what to do. What was i to do at that screen? There were no instructions.

Thanks
Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

I'll check that out, I just tried it also and having problems, I'll get back to you


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

ok thank you


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Ok I had a bad floppy so the program did not copy correctly.

What I did is,,,,,,,,, put a floppy in the drve then went to my computer, right click on the floppy and choose "format" let it format, then go back to the desk top and double click on the downloaded seagate tools. follow the instructions and this will copy the tools to the floppy.

Then boot from the floppy, this is where you will have to explain exactly what you see, it should after about a minuite of loading show a sceen asking you to accept a agreement to run the software, accept and you should be able to run it.

I am hoping you just had a bad floppy as I did but if you still can't run the software we are going to have to try and boot from another media just to see if the computer is capable of booting at all.

Post back and let me know the results


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I was able to get the test to run and the short and long test have passed. 
Ok so now what do I need to do?
Thank you
Denise


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

take the battery out and clean the contacts with a cotton bud dampend with solvent


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

ok I cleaned the contacts still the same problem.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Did this dell come with operating system cd's? If not I will show you how to get them.

If so try a repair install of XP.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

With a repair install you won't loose any personel data but you will have to get all the microsoft updates and reinstall drivers, I can help you with these


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I have a reinstallation Cd for windows that came with the computer. Would this be it? I went to the url you listed but have no idea what I am suppose to do next, it says I could lose data if I do this. Which steps do I follow?


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

The reinstall cd would be it, I am not positive that this cd will do a repair install, some in fact all dell's I have worked on will. 

Is this cd labled operating system?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

yes. it is labeled operating system


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Ok, I take it the data on the drive is very important and cannot be replaced so I am really going to air on the side of caution here. The drive we know is good because it passed test so if the data is that important I would slave the drive in another computer and get that data before continuing. I can explain how to do this but it would be another detailed step that will take some time.

On the other hand I have never lost any user data when performing a repair install and the warnings are just there to protect the author in case you do it wrong.

*What ever you do, do not format the drive!*

For the instructions on the repair install simply click on "Skip to Repair Install" on that page near the top and follow the instructions.

Let me know how you want to proceed


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I have to think about this and decide what I am going to do. I do have an external hard drive but I could still lose a lot of info. if this does not work. 

Thank you
Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

OK, I understand ,but do not start the repair install untill you understand warning#2, I will explain this if needed.

Its possible that your operating cd don't have the repair option, I think it does but again I am being careful, and if it don't at that point you would have to cancel the install


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I tried the cd and there was no option to repair.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

have you upgraded the computer to sp2 since buying it as this will stop the repair option being available
dells used to be the full windows disk with the dell logo on it


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I do not know if this is upgraded or not.


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

ok from what I have found out is this has service pack 2 on it.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

when you boot the computer from the cd does it go to the microsoft install screen


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

no it goes to windows after a long wait with the dark screen and blinking cursor.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

if it goes to the install screen intergate sp2 into your disk with nlite then run the repair install with the intergrated[slipstreamed] disk
http://www.nliteos.com/
it's simple to do virtually just mouse clicks,use this version of sp2
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en
have you set the bios to boot from cd first


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

no it does not.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

it's looking like you will have to try and save your data and do a reinstall


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

I agree, it seems that there is a problem with windows and not with hardware because you can boot from other media but seeing as you cannot do a repair install there are two options,

1) purchase a new hardrive and install windows on it then slave your existing drive in this computer and get your info and continue to use the drive as extra storage. 

2) slave this corrupt drive in another computer get your info off of it, place it back in the problem computer and format the drive and reinstall windows.

We can help and give you instructions with either of these options, let us know how you would like to proceed


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

networkmom said:


> no it goes to windows after a long wait with the dark screen and blinking cursor.


I may have missed something,,,,,,,,,

Is the computer actually booting from the cd?

Place the cd in the drive and restart the computer does it go to a install screen?

If it still goes to windows after a long wait with the dark screen and blinking cursor its not booting from the cd and we need to change something that I will explain after you answer the above questions


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

If I put the cd in the drive it will go to windows after a long time. I was able to boot from the A drive though but not the cd drive.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

You have to change the boot order in bios/setup and we will go overthis but first I want you to try something first.

dai had you do something similar but this is a bit different, start tapping the F8 key repeatedly at startup and choose safe mode.

Does the computer boot to safe mode at a normal speed?

Whats the model name and number of your dell?


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I have a dimension 8300 from dell
Safe mode seemed to work fine.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

If safe mode works fine then I think a drivers is hanging up the boot, thats the good news the bad news is this can be a bear to find.

Give me a moment I have to get on a XP machine and log back into the forum


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Goto start>run and type in the box "msconfig"

The system configuration utility box will appear, make sure you are on the general tab, put a dot in "selective startup" then uncheck "process SYSTEM.INI file"

Click apply on the bottom and restart the computer in normal mode and tell us if it boots any better


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

ok did this but did not make much of a difference.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Ok put the check back in "process SYSTEM.INI file"
Remove the check marks from "Win.ini File, and Load Startup Items"

Do not clear "Load System Services " at this time or you will loose your restore checkpoints that we may need.

Reboot and see if its any better.

I made the mistake of assuming dell went over this with you before declaring a bad drive or motherboard, we should have tried this much earlier on, the first rule when a computer won't boot is to try safe mode, if safe mode boots fine then you know its a software problem not hardware.

Sorry for all this trouble but hang in there, I really admire the fact that you stuck it out this far most give up


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

This did not work.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Well we are going to have to go back to the repair install but first you have to enter setup and set the cd to boot from.

This feature allows you to change the boot sequence for devices.

Changing Boot Sequence for the Current Boot
You can use this feature, for example, to tell the computer to boot from the CD drive so that you can run the operating install 

Turn on (or restart) your computer. 


When the blue DELL logo appears, press <F2> immediately. 


If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.

The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.

At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the device that is to be used for the current boot only. 

Place your windows cd in the drive before selecting and follow the instructions I linked to for the repair install


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I changed the sequence of the boot but this did not work. Is there anything else I need to try?

Thanks
Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Here is what to try next, go here

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8fe6868-6e4f-471c-b455-bd5afee126d8&DisplayLang=en

read the page especially the instructions and additional information, then download and create the floppy's. Boot from the floppy's and have your windows cd in the drive and then see if you can do a repair install.

What this does is boots the computer from the floppy's and installs all necessary files to run setup then setup takes over from the cd.

Again do not format the drive or partition or delete a partition, you will loose ever thing.

It may come to this though and you will have to try a format.

I would be much more comfortable if you had your info backed up we are getting to the point in trying things that data lose could inadvertently happen. If you like I can again explain how this can be accomplished but it would requirer you removing your hardrive and installing it in another computer or purchasing a new hardrive


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## networkmom (Nov 2, 2007)

I do have an extenal hard drive that I use but I need to do a back up again. I also need to be able to somehow back up all my emails in outlook express.. I will give this a try and see how it works. I may just end up buying a new tower.

Thanks
Denise


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Backup what you can and give it a try, I think its a windows problem is all because the computer ran the program to check the hardrives and you have been using it so I think if its a motherboard or other part thats bad it would have failed by now


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