I bought my Macintosh Performa 636 in Jan. 1996. After 2 1/2 years the
battery slowly died. I knew it was dying because the clock was at 1956 or
so each day for at least a week (maybe two?) when I started the computer.
No problem; I bought a 4.5 Volt alkaline battery for $9 at my university
computer store, put on a grounding strap to prevent electrostatic effects,
and installed the battery on the motherboard. It was quick and easy to do.
After that, my computer worked perfectly for 1 3/4 year, until one day last
month when a message appeared on my monitor screen saying that the clock
needed resetting; I noticed that the clock was at the wrong time. Two days
later my computer wouldn't start. As I later found out the hard way, my
battery was dead. The symptoms were very different this time.
The 100-page Macintosh User's Guide that came with my computer had no
information, so I called the 800 number of the Apple Computer Company
service center and spoke with a technician, who thought it was probably a
problem with the power supply.
Since I was exceptionally busy meeting several deadlines that week, my
husband (who is retired) offered to take it to a computer repair shop. I
called several. CompUSA charges $100 if you bring your computer in for
diagnosis. A locally owned shop has a lower rate: $40 for diagnosis.
It ended up costing my husband $40 for diagnosis, $20 for the new battery,
and $15 for installation. Groan.
Thanks to Ludwik and others for this thread. Many subscribers will benefit
from the useful information posted. Chuckle - wish it could have been me!
Cheers,
Jane
Jane Jackson, Director, Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu
"the gift of fantasy [creative imagination] has meant more
to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."
Albert Einstein