Hardware lockup - need suggestions for diagnosing

[Neil Joseph Schelly]

On Tuesday 12 December 2006 11:44 am, Larry Cook wrote:
> And we have a winner!!!
>
> This appears to be the problem.  I disconnected the CMOS/NVRAM battery,
> which is pretty much dead.  I was then able to run memtest for 14+ hours
> w/o a problem.  

Wow - I'd never have imagined that.  I'm gonna have to try that out on my next 
failed motherboard methinks.

> 1) Any recommendations on where to get a replacement?  Is it a Varta
> 7.2v 15mAh Ni-MH six coin cell pack.  I found this 40mAh (which I need
> to get for an older Latitude), which looks the same:
>
> http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/NMH-16/160300/7.2V_40MAH_NIMH_CO
>IN_CELL_PACK_.html
>
> 2) Would it be safe to use the 40mAh instead of a 15mAh?  What risks
> would I be taking?

Should be fine, so long as the voltage is right and it fits.  The mAh is just 
a measure of how long it can sustain that voltage, effective a rating of the 
life of the battery.  The important part is that the voltage is the same as 
the system is expecting.
-N