i was gone from my pc for a month. i come back and it started but started to do a boot loop i turned it off and went to turn it back on but it wouldn't power up for an entire day. then last night it turned on again and booted into windows but it dosent seem to remember the time. is this hard drive failure or motherbord. (btw all my files are still here) if its hard drive failure can i instal windows on a external drive and boot it up on that.

Welcome back.

If it's not remembering the time then your motherboard BIOS battery has failed. A very cheap simple part to replace.

i tried to take it out the other day but with no luck i couldent press the tab in and get it out even with a knife. could the moving around have jolted something.

You could have lifted it up from its contact, sure...make sure it's seated correctly on the motherboard.

At the top in this picture just pull it back slightly which should then pop it out.

http://www.askdrtech.com/solutions/i...iscbattery.jpg

Your random power problems worry me that it could be worse than a bad CMOS battery ...

Check and see if that takes care of your problem, but it could still be a bad board or even a bad power supply. These age, and if they're not high-quality they could be giving out dirty power - or dying.

Try the battery, and we'll take it from there.

Hello ibugppl

Has the assistance provided at PC Help Forum assisted you in remedying your issue yet?

An update would be most appreciated.

Thank you.

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