Dell 8300 Desktops - Anyone getting a system battery volta..

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system? It just started
happening the other day. From my research in the various Dell forums
it appears to be a common problem with these systems and even some
older 8200 systems that Dell won't fully acknowledge. Dell's
suggestions range from the normal tech support lame bios tweaking
answers of clearing nvram and system event log , resetting factory
deafults to even reseating/replacing the system battery. Believe or
not another fix seems to hinge upon the use of certain surge
suppressors, including the Belkin ones that Dell sells to you on-line
with their systems. Apparently certain surge suppressors don't allow
the system battery to recharge so they suggest connecting directly to
the wall outlet to correct the problem (What about surge protection
and warranty then Dell?) or trying a more expensive suppressor (What
brand and/or what specifications, Dell?). None of the proposed
solutions works consistently on every system all the time or even at
all. In some instances the warning just may even go away. The battery
replacement/reseating and surge suppressor use solutions seem to get
the most votes of confidence or at least some limited success. Go
figure...My question to Dell is What gives?. How about a real
solution, on-site support or a replacement system instead. Dell will
try anything so they don't have to honor a valid warranty with real
time service. A new computer shouldn't experience problems like this
one, especially the new expensive one I purchased from Dell.
 
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Larry

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

My 8300 is going on 8 months old and doesn't exhibit this problem.

<who@whatandwhere.com> wrote in message
news:000u60ddu1fi782d6kl4glp08grcer0cqj@4ax.com...
> Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
> warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system? It just started
> happening the other day. From my research in the various Dell forums
> it appears to be a common problem with these systems and even some
> older 8200 systems that Dell won't fully acknowledge. Dell's
> suggestions range from the normal tech support lame bios tweaking
> answers of clearing nvram and system event log , resetting factory
> deafults to even reseating/replacing the system battery. Believe or
> not another fix seems to hinge upon the use of certain surge
> suppressors, including the Belkin ones that Dell sells to you on-line
> with their systems. Apparently certain surge suppressors don't allow
> the system battery to recharge so they suggest connecting directly to
> the wall outlet to correct the problem (What about surge protection
> and warranty then Dell?) or trying a more expensive suppressor (What
> brand and/or what specifications, Dell?). None of the proposed
> solutions works consistently on every system all the time or even at
> all. In some instances the warning just may even go away. The battery
> replacement/reseating and surge suppressor use solutions seem to get
> the most votes of confidence or at least some limited success. Go
> figure...My question to Dell is What gives?. How about a real
> solution, on-site support or a replacement system instead. Dell will
> try anything so they don't have to honor a valid warranty with real
> time service. A new computer shouldn't experience problems like this
> one, especially the new expensive one I purchased from Dell.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

A friend has the exact same problem with his 8300. Dell suggested replacing
the battery but he hasn't tried that yet.

<who@whatandwhere.com> wrote in message
news:000u60ddu1fi782d6kl4glp08grcer0cqj@4ax.com...
> Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
> warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system? It just started
> happening the other day. From my research in the various Dell forums
> it appears to be a common problem with these systems and even some
> older 8200 systems that Dell won't fully acknowledge. Dell's
> suggestions range from the normal tech support lame bios tweaking
> answers of clearing nvram and system event log , resetting factory
> deafults to even reseating/replacing the system battery. Believe or
> not another fix seems to hinge upon the use of certain surge
> suppressors, including the Belkin ones that Dell sells to you on-line
> with their systems. Apparently certain surge suppressors don't allow
> the system battery to recharge so they suggest connecting directly to
> the wall outlet to correct the problem (What about surge protection
> and warranty then Dell?) or trying a more expensive suppressor (What
> brand and/or what specifications, Dell?). None of the proposed
> solutions works consistently on every system all the time or even at
> all. In some instances the warning just may even go away. The battery
> replacement/reseating and surge suppressor use solutions seem to get
> the most votes of confidence or at least some limited success. Go
> figure...My question to Dell is What gives?. How about a real
> solution, on-site support or a replacement system instead. Dell will
> try anything so they don't have to honor a valid warranty with real
> time service. A new computer shouldn't experience problems like this
> one, especially the new expensive one I purchased from Dell.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

on 03-04-2004 20:53 who@whatandwhere.com said the following:

> Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
> warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system?

Yep, I had this problem also, I just pressed on the battery inside and
rebooted the PC, and since then the problem has gone.
Maybe you can try this also.

Patrick
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In New Mexico, another fix seems to hinge upon performing a
rain dance if computer is placed center of a dance circle.

Surge protector solution is classic urban myth. Protector
remains inert - does absolutely nothing - until AC mains
voltage exceeds a threshold or let-through voltage. That
voltage is even printed on every box - typically 330 volts.
Funny thing about numbers. Numbers are avoided to promote
urban myths. Surge protector does nothing until 120 VAC
exceed 300+ volts. Where, pray tell, does a plug-in protector
have anything to do with a low voltage battery recharge?
Rain dance has been proven repeatedly to be a more reliable
solution - if research was performed in real world forums.

If surge protector did not permit battery to recharge, then
surge protector also did not permit computer to power on.
Posted by who@whatandwhere.com is classic urban myth promoted
by junk science reasoning. There also was no looting in Iraq
because Rumsfeld said so. A quote from Rumsfeld is sufficient
to be called proof? Another technically naive poster in some
newsgroup says surge protectors can cause batteries to not
recharge? No wonder some corporate executives must go
overseas to find competent employees. Some Americans, because
they never learned concepts even taught in Junior High School
science, will believe almost anything posted.

who@whatandwhere.com wrote:
> Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
> warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system? It just started
> happening the other day. From my research in the various Dell forums
> it appears to be a common problem with these systems and even some
> older 8200 systems that Dell won't fully acknowledge. Dell's
> suggestions range from the normal tech support lame bios tweaking
> answers of clearing nvram and system event log , resetting factory
> deafults to even reseating/replacing the system battery. Believe or
> not another fix seems to hinge upon the use of certain surge
> suppressors, including the Belkin ones that Dell sells to you on-line
> with their systems. Apparently certain surge suppressors don't allow
> the system battery to recharge so they suggest connecting directly to
> the wall outlet to correct the problem (What about surge protection
> and warranty then Dell?) or trying a more expensive suppressor (What
> brand and/or what specifications, Dell?). None of the proposed
> solutions works consistently on every system all the time or even at
> all. In some instances the warning just may even go away. The battery
> replacement/reseating and surge suppressor use solutions seem to get
> the most votes of confidence or at least some limited success. Go
> figure...My question to Dell is What gives?. How about a real
> solution, on-site support or a replacement system instead. Dell will
> try anything so they don't have to honor a valid warranty with real
> time service. A new computer shouldn't experience problems like this
> one, especially the new expensive one I purchased from Dell.
 
R

Ron

Distinguished
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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>
> Yep, I had this problem also, I just pressed on the battery inside and
> rebooted the PC, and since then the problem has gone.
> Maybe you can try this also.
>

Same here on my 8250. The message appeared in first few weeks, I pressed
down on the battery, no message for about a year now.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thanks w_ tom for your thesis on surge protectors, Dah... I'm not a
believer of Dell's mish mash, I'm just passing on the Dell Forum
discussion results. You might want to also try reading some of those
solutions, including the surge protector solution, explainable or not
as they may seem @
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_bios&message.id=22620
before engaging your brain again.

Another technically naive poster, Hah...........

On Sun, 04 Apr 2004 15:20:11 -0400, w_tom <w_tom1@hotmail.com> wrote:

> In New Mexico, another fix seems to hinge upon performing a
>rain dance if computer is placed center of a dance circle.
>
> Surge protector solution is classic urban myth. Protector
>remains inert - does absolutely nothing - until AC mains
>voltage exceeds a threshold or let-through voltage. That
>voltage is even printed on every box - typically 330 volts.
>Funny thing about numbers. Numbers are avoided to promote
>urban myths. Surge protector does nothing until 120 VAC
>exceed 300+ volts. Where, pray tell, does a plug-in protector
>have anything to do with a low voltage battery recharge?
>Rain dance has been proven repeatedly to be a more reliable
>solution - if research was performed in real world forums.
>
> If surge protector did not permit battery to recharge, then
>surge protector also did not permit computer to power on.
>Posted by who@whatandwhere.com is classic urban myth promoted
>by junk science reasoning. There also was no looting in Iraq
>because Rumsfeld said so. A quote from Rumsfeld is sufficient
>to be called proof? Another technically naive poster in some
>newsgroup says surge protectors can cause batteries to not
>recharge? No wonder some corporate executives must go
>overseas to find competent employees. Some Americans, because
>they never learned concepts even taught in Junior High School
>science, will believe almost anything posted.
>
>who@whatandwhere.com wrote:
>> Is anyone wrestling like I am with a system battery voltage low
>> warning at boot from my 4 month old Dell 8300 system? It just started
>> happening the other day. From my research in the various Dell forums
>> it appears to be a common problem with these systems and even some
>> older 8200 systems that Dell won't fully acknowledge. Dell's
>> suggestions range from the normal tech support lame bios tweaking
>> answers of clearing nvram and system event log , resetting factory
>> deafults to even reseating/replacing the system battery. Believe or
>> not another fix seems to hinge upon the use of certain surge
>> suppressors, including the Belkin ones that Dell sells to you on-line
>> with their systems. Apparently certain surge suppressors don't allow
>> the system battery to recharge so they suggest connecting directly to
>> the wall outlet to correct the problem (What about surge protection
>> and warranty then Dell?) or trying a more expensive suppressor (What
>> brand and/or what specifications, Dell?). None of the proposed
>> solutions works consistently on every system all the time or even at
>> all. In some instances the warning just may even go away. The battery
>> replacement/reseating and surge suppressor use solutions seem to get
>> the most votes of confidence or at least some limited success. Go
>> figure...My question to Dell is What gives?. How about a real
>> solution, on-site support or a replacement system instead. Dell will
>> try anything so they don't have to honor a valid warranty with real
>> time service. A new computer shouldn't experience problems like this
>> one, especially the new expensive one I purchased from Dell.
 
R

Ralph Thorndyke

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Cornputer: Dell Dimension 8300
Problema: Low battery warning...press F1 at bootup.

It's 3 years later..... The fellow with the problem has long since moved on to a healthful and full life...or else gave into his problem and became a hopeless drunk.
After suffering from the same debilitating computer condition for a few weeks and doing much research, finally having said oh to heck and blazes...with my flashlight at the ready, prepared to open the case and seek the bios battery info before taking the lonely ride to Radiddio Shack for a replacement, I tried the humble solution from Dell...and it worked!
I use a Belkin surge protector. Dell says it's some kinda wacky grounding problem. I personally think it's just corrosion, producing voltage funnies that the computer reads as a low battery problem.
So, what the heck. I unplugged my Dell 8300 from one socket and plugged it into another, and several boots later...NO problems!
I'm writing this so that if you happen to have a computer that is acting funny, it absolutely CAN NOT hurt to simply unplug the thing and plug it back in...maybe two or three times. Grounding problems can and does play havoc with sensitive electronic components... A leeeetle bit goes a long way. It's a good lesson for us all!
 
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Guest

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Hiya, If you purchased the goods with a credit card the simple way to sting a big company like Dell is to claim on the credit card insurance. That way you bypass all the gits who once they have your money dont give a hoot! The card company require details of the faulty goods and will refund you with the full amount, then just sit back and wait for Dell to call you.

Good luck

:)
 
rockyjohn

rockyjohn

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And to cover people who do that, there is another small cost built into the price of the products and passed on to the thousands or millions of customers, including those using more reasonable methods of problem resolution.
 
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kmfourmy

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@RockyJohn; Hahahahahahahaahh -- wait wait, hahahahahahaaha, that is SO funny, oh, wait, let me catch my breath. "Reasonable solution?" REASONable solution? Those first two syllables say so much, don't they?

Companies that sell items with corn syrup know there is no such thing, and that it instantaneously poisons 100 percent of those who consume it. Relate this to Dell's practices and you will grasp that "reasonable" has more than one meaning. Learn, son, learn, and then learn to draw lines in the sand. What is the purpose of insurance if not to protect you from being ripped off?


@Ron; Thank you, thank you. Excellent, fast, no-cost fix. Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in sharing.
 
rockyjohn

rockyjohn

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Let's see. Anonymous pulls up an archived thread with a common computer complaint but aimed at Dell. The thread has had no complaints in over 5 years and whose only activity since then is a 2 year old suggestion on how to simply and easil fix the issue yourself because it may not be a Dell issue but a common electrical problem. Oh yes, and that guy 5 years ago fixed the problem by simply pressing on his battery.

Anonymous then describes how the best method for dealing with such issues is to "sting" deal by taking a credit card adjustment instead of just simply fixing it. Does that make sense? Nevermind that battery issues normally arise long after credit card insurance applies. Nevermind that you will still have a paperwork to fill out with you credit card company. And nevermind that any charger or costs you put back on Dell are just charged back out to all us buyers. And never mind that the last two posters fixed their issue simply by pressing on the battery and by changing the power cord to another socket.

So I disagree with rushing to costly alternative suggested by Anonymous.

Then along comes bodigital launching into a patronizing attack on me while making ludicrous statements like there is no such thing as corn syrup. Well bo - you are flat wrong and just showing your own foolishness on both items.

And I know reasonable has more than one meaning - but that has nothing to do with Dell practices but simple language usuage. Linking the two again just shows a bogus argument trying to support your flawed premise. And then you continue with more patronizing - learn learn learn - how childish and lame.

The you ask - "What is the purpose of insurance if not to protect you from being ripped off? " Another misleading item. Well lets see, some insurance is to give family money if you die. Some indurance helps pay for health care costs. Gee you keep making these general statements. So not all insurance is for the purpose you state. I guess you just like whipping off general statements without concern for truth. And while credit card companies do provide one form of insurance against getting ripped off online - that is certianly not an excuse for misusing it. Just like with Dell, the insurance companies have a cost factor built in to reimburse them for their costs, so the misuse you encourage costs us all.

Its not nice to be patronizing. You start by showing you are uncivil and like to put others down. But it only makes you look like a fool when you do it and are wrong, too.
 
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Guest

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@Ralph Thorndyke
@RockyJohn

and to the VERY Brave, Courageous, and Bold "Mr. Hubris Himself" (AKA "Anonymous"),

I have been a part-time tech at our local publice library for the last 3 years. We have about 115 PCs, including some servers, and they are all DELLs! We purchase about 25-30% NEW pcs every year, leading to a replacement schedule of approx every 4 years at the most for all our PCs.

We have encountered this random and spurious "Low Battery" warning all through the 3.5 years I've been here. Here is the "Profile" of the problem as I have observed:

1) It is infrequent.
2) It seems to be related to the older models, but....
3) It does seem to re-occur on a particular PC once it starts.
4) It does NOT occur with any discernable pattern on the "infected" PCs. It often, but not always, will reoccur on a particular PC for several days, but not always EACH of those several days. Then it may disappear for a while, and may or may not happen again (story not over yet!)

We have dealt with it by:

1) Restarting the PCs and "nurse" them along until they "get well" after a few days.
2) Monitoring them for a while after that.
3) If it simply will not stop, we CHANGE the BATTERY. (Which is pretty trivial, even if you've never been inside a PC before. Of course, if you are a total Klutz, you might ask a teenager to do it for you.)
4) We have NOT demanded a full refund from DELL, while at the same time keeping the perfectly good

My own theory is as follows:

It could be realated to a power outage when a battery is getting close to it's minimum voltage in the following scenario:

A) Battery is right on the "edge" of minimum voltage (for 3v battery, @ 2.84-2.89 v?) due to it's age.

B) Power outage occurs and battery begins drawing down to maintain BIOS.

C) Combination of actual battery strength and length of outage is such that the battery draws

down below the PC sensor minimum, but is still able to maintain the BIOS (due to a "safety

margin" in the design)

D) When power is restored, the PC reboots (or is turned on manually). The batter is still below the minimum and the warning is generated.

E) However, even though not rechargable, like most batteries, its voltage will rise to some extent AFTER being drawn down, once then load is stopped (a "bounce back" effect).

This cycle could continue based on these unique circumstances, until and if, the battery is finally too weak to sustain the BIOS during even a brief power interruption, making the problem appear "random."

This theory could certainly account for most of my observed situations.

Any and all "Reasonable" responses are welcome, from people who are NOT afraid to identify themselves!



 
rockyjohn

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Jim or Bill or Scott or whomever posted above,

Thank you for the info. I have had the problem myself on my Dell. In fact it first occurred only about a month after I got my Dell and I called them all concerned about how my battery could already be going out. They told me to press it and it did the trick. It has reoccured several times and I just ignore it and it goes away, although I don't necessarily recommend that for everyone.

What I object to is people advising others to over react and not handle the problem responsibly. And then further, when their irresponsible suggestions is objected to, they respond with uncivil, patronizing blather.
 
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Guest

Guest
:pt1cable: Gee Larry, I guess you're one of the millions of who think if it doesn't happen to me, it doesn't exist? hahahahahahahahahahaaaa :bounce:

 
rockyjohn

rockyjohn

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:pt1cable: Gee Larry, I guess you're one of the millions of who think if it doesn't happen to me, it doesn't exist? hahahahahahahahahahaaaa :bounce:
Click to expand...

He is probably also one of the millions that does not keep track of or read his threads from 6 years ago, so he might not even see your put down. Its a shame to waste a good put down.

I figured he probably was just responding at the time to provide some balance to let others know the problem might not be widespread - helpful information if one is troubleshooting a thorny issue.

But then I look for the good in people rather than assuming the worst like you.

By the way - he is "one of the millions of" what?
 
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CharlieDIY

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I've got the same problem, and have had it since late last summer. Constant warning. I replaced the battery. No change. In fact, it got worse. I pulled the Belkin UPS off last night, mainly because it was refusing to cut back on, but changing outlets did zip..so far, anyway.

I'm very close to due for a new system--this one is seven years old in May--but I've been trying to hold off until cash flow improves. That may not be possible.

A friend told me this is a fairly constant problem with Dell Dimensions. I see he was right.

From my decades ago avionics tech experience, corrosion seems a reasonable explanation. I'm going to pop the case, clean the new battery and its socket, and move the plug to a different receptacle.
 
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Peteandj

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What does the battery look like and where do I find it to try to clean or replace. Where do I get a new battery and what is it called specifically?
 
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Guest

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Dell Dimension 8300 worked fine for years, until last week (May 2010) when I started getting the "system battery voltage is low" aert on start up. I do not use a Belkin surge protector, but another brand of surge protector.

Thank you for this forum to discuss and learn more.

Wanted to let you know that I checked other tech forums to learn that several people are having this issue on "old" and newly purchased computers.


Michele
 
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Guest

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I have a dell dimension 8400 and mine started doing this warning about a month ago. at first it was only once and i thought maybe the cord wasnt pushed in all the way. well i booted up normaly for about a week after that and then message again every once in a while then here the last two or three days it has done it every time i boot up.... i know nothing about computers and i have all my pics and home movies on this computer. i know i have done dell updates to this comp and possibly updated the bios i know that makes a difference when replacing the cmos battery but i just am not sure what that difference is??? if anyone can help me and tell me worst case scenario if the battery dies completely will i have to completely reinstall my system and will i lose all my stuff like pics and documents?? please help and thank you :)
 
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vaporize

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I have a dell dimension 8400 and mine started doing this warning about a month ago. at first it was only once and i thought maybe the cord wasnt pushed in all the way. well i booted up normaly for about a week after that and then message again every once in a while then here the last two or three days it has done it every time i boot up.... i know nothing about computers and i have all my pics and home movies on this computer. i know i have done dell updates to this comp and possibly updated the bios i know that makes a difference when replacing the cmos battery but i just am not sure what that difference is??? if anyone can help me and tell me worst case scenario if the battery dies completely will i have to completely reinstall my system and will i lose all my stuff like pics and documents?? please help and thank you :)
Click to expand...


LOL no, you lose your bios settings and/or time settings only
 
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