Re: [tlug] Favorite Linux laptops these days?

[Raymond Wan <rwan.kyoto@example.com>]

On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Lyle H Saxon <llletters@example.com> wrote:
> I have one six-year old Toshiba laptop that is still working fine,
> with no hardware failures.  I had a couple of old 486 DynaBooks that
> simultaneously died however (or "were discovered dead in the closet" I
> should say).  I think maybe the BIOS maintainer battery (what's the
> proper term for that anyway?) died and they lost their BIOS?  Is that
> how that works?  (No BIOS, no computer.)  Do very old laptops all die
> that way?  Are more modern laptops like that as well, or is the BIOS
> stored in flash memory now that doesn't need power to live?


I think BIOS still requires a separate battery nowadays.  Should be a
cylindrical watch battery.  However, without any juice, the system
should still start up.  The computer will just beep and say that the
BIOS has been reset.  I don't know how long those batteries last.

I heard they are suppose to recharge if the computer is plugged into
power.  But I'm not too sure about that.

Your old Dynabooks probably died due to another reason.  Maybe the
closet was damp, etc.

I probably mentioned this already (too lazy to look back at my
e-mail), but my Toshiba laptop is still running after over 15 years.
Correction...it was working the last time I turned it on a few years
ago.  It is currently being neglected in a closet...which I should
remember to go home tonight to check for moisture.  :-)

Ray