What do bios batteries look like?

[mark at buttery.org (Mark J. Dulcey)]

Duane Morin wrote:

> I have an old AST/Premmia GX P/90 that a guy donated to me to use as a simple 
> server at home.  But sometimes when I turn it on I get a message about not 
> being able to detect hard drive format.  Several folks have suggested that it 
> could be a dead bios battery.  Ok, so I'll try replacing that.
> 
> Somebody want to help me figure out where it is?  I have been assuming that 
> I'm looking for a watchbattery type of thing, tiny disc shape.  Instead, all 
> I've found that looks like a battery is a big black block that looks like 3 
> AA's electrical taped together.  Also, that block just says "Alkaline 
> battery", and checking the AST site tells me that I want a lithium battery.  
> The AST site does a good job of telling me what kind of battery I need, but it 
> doesn't say anything about where I'm supposed to find the thing.

The big black block that says "Alkaline battery" is indeed the 
one you're looking for. 3-cell alkaline packs are sometimes used 
as substitutes for lithium batteries, since they produce the same 
voltage. They don't last as long, though.

Those big off-board batteries are kind of old-fashioned, so you 
may have a bit of trouble tracking one down, but I'm sure 
somebody still makes them. Another possible substitute that used 
to get installed in some computers is a 3-cell holder for 
ordinary AA alkaline cells.

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