does leaving the *Desktop* PC unplugged for a long time drain the battery?

[scrumptious]

There's a battery for the bios in every PC. I am thinking of getting a new PC and want to store my old PC as a backup. Should I keep it plugged in? And what about the power switch thingy for the power supply on the back of the computer -- should I turn that off? I do not want to replace the battery myself should I ever need to. I'm terrible with that kind of stuff. I'd have to have a technician do it.

[lifeboat]

"Should I keep it plugged in? And what about the power switch thingy for the power supply on the back of the computer -- should I turn that off?"

Unplug it and it doesn't matter what you do with the power switch.

Worst case scenario is that the battery dies but you could still use your computer. Your only problem is that it would forget the correct time each time you turned it off.

Then instead of hiring a technician, have a friend replace the battery. It's not a big deal. Battery goes for $5, max.

Eric Klien
Lifeboat Foundation
+1 (775) 329-0180 Voice
+1 (775) 329-0190 Fax
Skype ID lifeboathq
Twitter lifeboathq
http://lifeboat.com

[liquidice]

it's really only a watch size battery, so if you replace that, you'll be fine.

[scrumptious]

Originally Posted by lifeboat

Worst case scenario is that the battery dies but you could still use your computer. Your only problem is that it would forget the correct time each time you turned it off.

You mean like the time it displays in Windows?

Either way that's a relief. I just assumed that it meant your computer wouldn't function at all Thank you so much.

[lifeboat]

"You mean like the time it displays in Windows?"

Exactly. I recently had to replace the battery in one of my computers because it couldn't hold the correct time.

"Thank you so much."

I aim to please!

Eric Klien
Lifeboat Foundation
+1 (775) 329-0180 Voice
+1 (775) 329-0190 Fax
Skype ID lifeboathq
Twitter lifeboathq
http://lifeboat.com

[PaulGo]

Every computer is different, when my battery died it did cause some issues with running Windows. I woould advise you to put the power switch on the back of the computer in the off position and unplug any peripherals. As stated changing the battery is fairly easy since it is in a holder on the motherboard. On my computer the battery died a lot faster than it should when I shut off the power on the power surge protector without shutting off the power on the poewer supply. It appears the mouse and keyboard still draw some power when off since when I now power down the computer (leaving it plugged in) the mouse LED light stays illuminated.

[owa]

Seems to, at least with some computers. I bought my parents one of those SFF computers a few years ago and the surge protector would be turned off (they use it like a master switch) when they weren't using it. The battery kept running down that way so I had to connect to the always active outlet on the back to keep it from running down.

[supersix4]

I had my first custom comp from 2005 stored from then till 2008 and pluged it in and it worked fine.