Hi there! This is my first post here and I’m not really sure if I’m at the right place. Apologies if I’m not but how retro is retro when you talk about computers in 2023?
I’m going straight to the point then I’ll explain my problem if anybody wants to know about it.
The point: I need to find out where the CMOS battery is located on a circa 2005 ASUS L3500H. It’s a really complicated notebook to tear up and I can’t find any strip down or documentation on it to do it safely. The manuals I still have are very vague. So if someone has experience with this model or could point me out to some place that archives documentation on old laptops I’d really appreciate. The model I have is actually a brazilian version and they changed the brand to ATLAM and the model # to HI 9000. The only mention I found of this laptop after a day researching is from an website named ICECAT
The problem: I have this laptop since it was new. Bought it for a ridiculous amount of money back in the early 2000s when laptops where not even a thing in Brazil and I didn’t have any connections abroad to send me one (most people that had good laptops usually had macbooks they bought abroad). I worked as a VJ and video editor and needed something that could both create content and perform live. It lasted for years until the hard drive was killed in a very stupid way (not by me). Some time ago I dusted it off and ran it from a live Linux CD since it’s really hard to find a working HDD that fits it. It worked fine. The battery was fine too, holding charge after almost 20 years.
This weekend I tried it again (there’ll be a party with DJs from back in the day and I thought it would be cool to use the same laptop I used back then with all it’s limitations just for the fun of it) and it’s not posting anymore. It turns on, fanspin is there but no beeps, no lights and no disk drive or floppy drive noises. I tried removing RAM sticks one at a time, discharging the BIOS, left it running for a while. Nothing works.
When trying to take it apart I found it really hard to open up the shell and stopped so I don’t tear any cables or
broke something. (it has screws coming from all sides and I don’t know if parts are simply stuck or if there’s a some actual fastener).
This is my last shot for now since the venue is next Saturday. But no matter when you see this post, if you have some light to point my way please do. This computer means a lot to me and I really want to get it up and running again.
Thanks a lot for anyone that took your time to read my message. Hope it wasn’t too long or confusing.
welcome to the forum!
I didn’t find any signs of a maintenance or repair manual either. (The situation may be even worse than with what we may regard as vintage computers.) One idea may be looking at sites and auctions selling the L3500H in parts, where you may determine from photos, what the various assemblies are and where any connections or screws are located. E.g., I found these listed items, and there may be others, as well.
Hi there! Thanks for the response. That’s a great idea! I also think I’m gonna head downtown to a street that used to sell parts and broken machines and see if I can find a broken one on the cheap just to practice the surgery (hope the stores are still there). Seems like this fix will be an adventure on its own but I’ll take that.
Yeah, it seems the early 2000’s are like a limbo when it comes to computers. Not old enough to be historical and not new enough to not be just seen as junk.
Thanks the link by the way. I was looking for a good place to ask around and that seems to be a great one.
Good luck and may you have tales to tell!
At this time, laptops still used to be repairable, especially the better ones. So there should be a way in without breaking things (at least in theory. )
(If you manage to fix it, don’t forget to share this in a suitable forum, in order to document this for others.)
Nearly 2 years have passed by, but I had the same problem, a dead CMOS battery on an ASUS L3500H laptop, and found this unanswered question. An italian website forum.tomshw.it had the answer: You first have to remove the keyboard. Remove the one screw on the backside that sits in the very deep hole in the upper middle. Than flip the notebook over, open the screen to working position and find the little hole just in front of the left hinge of the display. Insert a paper clip or small screw driver and shift the plastic cover that contains the auxillary keys to the left and lift it up. Than you may lift up the keyboard, remove its cable (also a good time to remove the cable to the touchpad) and you find screws underneath the keyboard, 3 in brass fittings, 2 that hold covers for the secondary memory slot and wifi slot. The cmos battery is buried inside, just above the cd tray, its a CR2032 with a cable and small plug, so you have to disassemble the whole laptop, remove all screws you find from the body, not the display screen.
Hope this helps anyone who comes later.
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