You may wonder how the PC can remember the current time even though its switched off.
Well, its the tiny, shiny little CMOS battery on your motherboard that keeps track of the time.
But as CMOS is a part of the motherboard, will the PC boot without the battery?
Why There is a CMOS Battery in a PC?
When the PC is not turned on, this battery delivers a bit of power to the CMOS.
The intent is to keep the clock running while a wall socket does not power the PC.
The question can arise, as the PC is running on electricity, thenwhy does it need a battery?
That way, the BIOS can remember all the configurations & intact the time.
FIY, toclear CMOS, you’re free to take out the battery.
It resets the BIOS by clearing bugs and glitches.
As a result, you have to set back all the prefs again.
But as these are after-boot problems, can you proceed to the system without having a CMOS battery?
Continue reading to know more about this.
Can a CPU Start Without a CMOS Battery?
The CMOS Battery is present to keep the real-time clock running & save the BIOS tweaks.
But without it, can a PC run?
Apparently,Yes, your PC will boot without any major issues with the absence of a CMOS battery.
The main trouble will be the wrong clock time on Windows & default BIOS configurations.
Additionally, even if you save some controls in BIOS, during the next boot it wont remember anything.
The3Vbattery is there to power the CMOS to trigger the clock while there is no electricity.
In this case, your booting chance will be at stake.
Read along to know the consequences of no CMOS battery.
What are the Effects of CPU Booting Without a CMOS Battery?
As already mentioned, your clock will be reset & all BIOS adjustments will be set to factory values.
If there is only a single storage drive, then there is no stress.
However, having multiple drives can strain you a bit.
As the first slot works as the default slot, it should work like a charm.
Besides, after a clean Windows installation, I suffered the issue of the wrong date.
But Steam or Ubisoft remind me to fix that.
Now imagine the distress of doing this whenever you are hopping on the PC without CMOS.
Otherwise, you will have tofix the CMOS battery failure.
FAQs
How can a CMOS battery go bad?
The CMOS battery is non-rechargeable, & longer periods without running the computer can drain out the battery quickly.
The battery can die over time, similar to other batteries.
What will happen if the CMOS gets low?
When to replace the CMOS battery?
The CMOS battery can last up to 10 years if the PC runs regularly.
However, if the PC rarely runs, the chances of draining out the battery are high.
In that case, you may require to change the battery frequently.
Final Thought
CMOS battery is responsible for storing RTC & BIOS prefs.
