In article 441E1980.21DC752C@redacted.invalid, Sawney Beane beadleXX@redacted.invalid wrote:
I downloaded the original version of the Mac Mini manual and found no reference to a clock battery. Is there one?
Why do you want to know that (yes, I think all Macs have a backup battery)? Which Mac OS version are you running? Mac OS 10.3 and earlier may have experienced backup-battery like problems, which in reality is not due to battery problems, but to the OS.
Hans Aberg wrote:
In article 441E1980.21DC752C@redacted.invalid, Sawney Beane beadleXX@redacted.invalid wrote:
I downloaded the original version of the Mac Mini manual and found no reference to a clock battery. Is there one?
Why do you want to know that (yes, I think all Macs have a backup battery)? Which Mac OS version are you running? Mac OS 10.3 and earlier may have experienced backup-battery like problems, which in reality is not due to battery problems, but to the OS.
-- Hans Aberg
I keep my StarMax plugged in because otherwise the clock battery won't last long, and it won't start without that battery. I 'd like to know if I'll also have to keep a Mac Mini plugged in and if I'll have to send it away to have the battery replaced.
In article 1142872662.858036.82640@redacted.invalid, "Sawney Beane" beadle1833@redacted.invalid wrote:
I keep my StarMax plugged in because otherwise the clock battery won't last long, and it won't start without that battery. I 'd like to know if I'll also have to keep a Mac Mini plugged in and if I'll have to send it away to have the battery replaced.
As far as I know, all Mac's have a backup battery for clock and some power management. I do not know how long it lasts, if the computer is turned off. At least days, weeks, perhaps longer, I would think. (Internet networked Mac's can be set so that thwy get their clocks adjusted via the net.) PowerBooks can even be run for a shorter time (some minute), so that one does not have to turn the computer off during a battery change. I do not recall any Mac that I have had, needing a battery change. I have encountered a few Mac's running Mac OS 10.0-10.3 (or something) that appeared in need of a battery change, but the problem disappeared after an upgrade to Mac OS 10.4. I got suspicious, because the batteries were sold put at Apple, but no Mac's under Mac OS 9 I encountered needed a battery change, including some older than five years. :-) So this suggested it was a OS problem, not a battery problem.
Why don't you check if the clock stays in place when you turn it off. If it does not, upgrade to Mac OS 10.4 before buying a battery.
Hans Aberg wrote:
In article 1142872662.858036.82640@redacted.invalid, "Sawney Beane" beadle1833@redacted.invalid wrote:
I keep my StarMax plugged in because otherwise the clock battery won't last long, and it won't start without that battery. I 'd like to know if I'll also have to keep a Mac Mini plugged in and if I'll have to send it away to have the battery replaced.
As far as I know, all Mac's have a backup battery for clock and some power management. I do not know how long it lasts, if the computer is turned off. At least days, weeks, perhaps longer, I would think. (Internet networked Mac's can be set so that thwy get their clocks adjusted via the net.) PowerBooks can even be run for a shorter time (some minute), so that one does not have to turn the computer off during a battery change. I do not recall any Mac that I have had, needing a battery change. I have encountered a few Mac's running Mac OS 10.0-10.3 (or something) that appeared in need of a battery change, but the problem disappeared after an upgrade to Mac OS 10.4. I got suspicious, because the batteries were sold put at Apple, but no Mac's under Mac OS 9 I encountered needed a battery change, including some older than five years. :-) So this suggested it was a OS problem, not a battery problem.
Why don't you check if the clock stays in place when you turn it off. If it does not, upgrade to Mac OS 10.4 before buying a battery.
-- Hans Aberg
Now that I think of it, my StarMax was the first Mac where I heard the battery could be a problem. I replaced mine because of a consensus among owners that it would last only three years or so, and if the battery failed the computer wouldn't start.
My aunt bought an iMac that needed a new battery the day she brought it. I installed a new one. The manual said if the PMU button wasn't pressed, the battery wouldn't last long. I pressed the button, but the battery didn't last long. On that model, a dead battery was a minor inconvenience. It meant only that you had to reset the clock if you unplugged the computer.
If a Mac Mini clock uses very little current, like a wrist watch, maybe there's a sort of capacitor that keeps it running for a day or so if it's unplugged. I haven't received it yet, but it will have OS 10.4.