ThinkPad R51 - Bios Problems

[Ross365]

I have an old R51, which is occasionally handy as it runs XP. I just changed the main battery and now I cannot start it

At Switch on, it displays "IBM Thinkpad" To interrupt normal startup, press Access IBM. That's normal, it should quickly load XP, but now it waits and then says

Error 0271; check date and time settings. Press F1 to startup so I press F1, and that takes me to the Bios Setup and Utility page, and there I press Save and Exit.

It asks if I want to save changes, I say yes to that...... but that just takes me back to the first screen "IBP ThinkPad".

Can anyone tell me what I should do for it to run normally?
This seems almost like a CMOS battery issue, but that was fine a week ago, when last used.

Thanks

 

[hotponyshoes]

I presume you are actually setting the correct date and time in the bios before clicking save and exit?

If so, it should then start normally.
If it's lost the date/time again next time you start up then yes, I'd say its the bios battery

 

[Ross365]

I presume you are actually setting the correct date and time in the bios before clicking save and exit?

Well, err no! I thought that as it will never go on line, it could just run with whatever numbers were in time and date .

I set the time and date, and after a little thinking about it, it loaded XP.

I thought that the CMOS kept time and date good, I guess there are other factors when the main battery comes out?

Many thanks Hotponyshoes

 

[gaz1]

I have an old R51, which is occasionally handy as it runs XP. I just changed the main battery and now I cannot start it

At Switch on, it displays "IBM Thinkpad" To interrupt normal startup, press Access IBM. That's normal, it should quickly load XP, but now it waits and then says

Error 0271; check date and time settings. Press F1 to startup so I press F1, and that takes me to the Bios Setup and Utility page, and there I press Save and Exit.

It asks if I want to save changes, I say yes to that...... but that just takes me back to the first screen "IBP ThinkPad".

Can anyone tell me what I should do for it to run normally?
This seems almost like a CMOS battery issue, but that was fine a week ago, when last used.

Thanks

it requires a new battery

you would have an option at start up to enter bios settings if you go in there its all flat lined and your system wants settings to be done at every boot up

just have a look and you will find that im right

 

[hotponyshoes]

Well, err no! I thought that as it will never go on line, it could just run with whatever numbers were in time and date .

I set the time and date, and after a little thinking about it, it loaded XP.

I thought that the CMOS kept time and date good, I guess there are other factors when the main battery comes out?

Many thanks Hotponyshoes

I'm not that handy with computers but I *think* when XP shuts down it saves some information (about current settings etc) in a file that is used to boot up again with the next time you switch on.
This file is a Boot file and has a time and date written into it (when you last shut down)

The Bios is the basic information that's on a bare computer. That stores information about which hard drive to use to find and load the operating system (XP) on start-up.
Bios has a battery powered clock. If the battery goes flat the date resets to the date the computer was made.
When you try and start that date does not match the date in the Boot file so XP doesn't know what to do and won't load.

The Bios clock battery is normally a coin type mounted on the motherboard. Should last about 10yrs (maybe?)
Search Google with the model number to see where yours is as it might be easy to replace.
You might find that a laptop battery or psu will also provide power to the Bios clock so you'll never have a problem unless you remove the laptop battery without it being connected to a charger.
If not the date will reset each time you shut down and you'll have to replace the battery (or set the clock each time)

 

[jmp49]

If it happens again, I think on that era its a cr2032 coin cell in a plastic shrinkwrap cover with flyleads and a plug and it lives under the wristpad area next to the touchpad. But its been awhile...
I completely get keeping it working. I have a bunch of battered Thinkpad 410's for diagnostics and older machine stuff use in the workshop where I dont want my newer laptop balancing precariously on something & a panasonic toughbook because it still has a physical working 9pin din rs232 serial port

 

[Kayos]

If it happens again, I think on that era its a cr2032 coin cell in a plastic shrinkwrap cover with flyleads and a plug and it lives under the wristpad area next to the touchpad. But its been awhile...
I completely get keeping it working. I have a bunch of battered Thinkpad 410's for diagnostics and older machine stuff use in the workshop where I dont want my newer laptop balancing precariously on something & a panasonic toughbook because it still has a physical working 9pin din rs232 serial port

I bought a new laptop about 3 years ago with a physical serial port

 

[Ross365]

R51 is working fine thanks. Switched it off for 2 hours, then on, and it's straight in to XP. As I recall, the CMOS battery in that is not so easy to get at.
Think I changed it once before; machine dates back to ~2000? Use the machine occasionally to run two old "usb oscilloscopes". Store lots of data and then play back on the "big screen". Have to scratch my head a bit when using XP these days.

 

[jmp49]

Yes irrc you have to undo about 20 secrews which are 3-4 different lengths and wreck things if you dont put them back in the same place, lift the keyboard up a bit, then with your 3rd and 4th hands remove the cover around the touchpad, and lift it clear to access where the battery lives underneath while trying not to break the keyboard ribbon cable, or unplug the ribbon and hope you can get it back in without damaging it
VM's are your friend for most things, I keep anything from 3.11 upwards in virtual machines, but sometimes they require features that are hardware level that virtual machine abstract away or do not implement properly. Most usb stuff is fine, but legacy ports and things which require bus access for cards or specific port hardware can be affected. Some modern software has anti virtual machine detection and refuses to run because it can be that a vm instance is license locked to the machine in the virtual machine, and that can be just copied around multiple places with no identity change.