vswitchzero | Don’t delay! Get those leaky barrel batteries off vintage motherboards! @vswitchzero | Uploaded August 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Many old motherboards came with batteries for maintaining power to the RTC and to preserve BIOS settings. Many had “barrel” batteries like this one, which are infamous for leaking corrosive electrolyte. This fluid eats away copper traces and other components on the board. Since the batteries are certainly dead by this point anyway, they should be removed without delay. Using a pair of snips is often the easiest way to do this and only takes a second or two.
Many old motherboards came with batteries for maintaining power to the RTC and to preserve BIOS settings. Many had “barrel” batteries like this one, which are infamous for leaking corrosive electrolyte. This fluid eats away copper traces and other components on the board. Since the batteries are certainly dead by this point anyway, they should be removed without delay. Using a pair of snips is often the easiest way to do this and only takes a second or two.
