Finally got a stubborn laptop to boot after trying a trick with the CMOS battery

Had a client's machine that would power on but just hang on a black screen, no beeps. I tried the usual reseating of RAM and checking connections, but nothing worked. On a hunch, I pulled the CMOS battery for a full 5 minutes instead of just 30 seconds, and it actually cleared the hang-up and let it post. Has anyone else found that longer CMOS resets can fix weird boot issues like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronschmidt1mo ago

My old five second rule changed after a similar fix.

phoenix_carter1mo ago

Ever tried leaving it out overnight?

sageross17d ago

@phoenix_carter Nope, that’s a hard pass from me.