First post, by appiah4
- Rank
- l33t++
I was testing some stuff on my 486 and it started acting strangely. First, it intermittently stopped registering key presses from one keyboard. I then replaced the keyboard and booted it up, and it spat out a Keyboard error at post, no power to the keyboard. I replaced it with yet another, this time the keyboard worked but I still got a Keyboard error at POST I could bypass with F1. I thought the connector may be flaky so I took the motherboard out and inspected it but it's fine. I put the PC back together and this time I got a CMOS error and a Keyboard error and all the CMOS data was gone. The board has a Tadiran 1/2AA Lithium battery on it, non-rechargable (factory installed) and it's easily 25+ years old. I'm certain it's on its way out. I ordered a replacement and I'll solder that in its place, but I was curious as to whether a dying CMOS battery can cause these kinds of keyboard issues..
Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.