Battery Replacement For Ibm 386 Ps/1

This is for you old timers. I have an IBM PS/1 386 computer
brought around 1990. I works fine but I know the battery
must be shot. I used this computer to run one program that
will not work on Win XP and it is a word processor that I
use all the time show I want this computer to keep working.
The clock is alway way off and I believe that battery is
either dead or near dead. What I don't understand is if the
battery is dead why does the computer still operate???

I got out my old book and the computer takes a Lithium battery
CR 2032. I know how to put it in. I also have the IBM PB/1
backup dos disk with all the info on it. The PROBLEM is when
I remove the old battery won't the BIOS be lost and will I be
able to start the computer. I don't even know how to find
the BIOS on this computer. The computer also has Win 3.1.

Will this computer keep running even if the battery is dead?
When I replace the battery will I be able to reboot?
What precautions should I take in a battery replacement for
the old computer??

Thanks, Jerry

 

2032 is a very common battery. Whenyou change it, you will probably lose your bios settings, so before you change it - go into your bios and write down your settings, then if you have to restore them, you are not shooting from the hip. Also, if the battery is currently shot, your computer will run as long as it is powered on and the harddrive has been properly detected. Whenever you turn it off or unplug it, you may need to auto detect the HDD in your bios again to get it to boot. Some of these older machines also had a two pin jumper near the battery (common on soldered cannister type batteries) which you could plug an auxilliary battery into.

Does this mean I've become an old-timer?