Studio resurrection issues..

[Armistice]

So I unpacked everything and set it up pushed the button on the PC and got a couple of very harsh looking errors - something to do with a system change, and the real time clock being wrong.... hmmmm... All of a sudden it was 1 Jan 2004 according to my PC, when it eventually booted. I changed it to the current time and tried ignoring the errors to see if they went away.

No.

So I googled the error and found out that I probably have to replace the battery (it's a server PC - ie. desktop box). Battery?

WHO KNEW THAT DESKTOP PCs HAD BATTERIES???????

Never really thought about it. I guess they have to keep the time somehow.

Oh no, this will be some arcane procedure involving a rare earth battery that's not available due to COVID, I thought, as I was googling 'how to change real time battery' - only to find that it looks like a standard button battery, at least on the PC in the YouTube, which wasn't the same as mine, but a relative.

So I pop the top off and there's the fucking battery right in the middle of the mobo, staring at me. How have I never seen that before? I attempt to remove it using a "non-metallic implement" as per the YouTube instructions - how many decent non-metallic implements for removing button batteries from motherboards can you lay your hands on? Best I could find was a toothpick, which wasn't strong enough. Fuck this, a jeweller's screwdriver is the perfect tool for the job and I'll make sure I don't kill anything else in the process.

Removed battery - I thought I might actually have a 2032 lying around, they're used for lots of things - but no, I don't, so off to the supermarket to get a couple - because you can never buy one of anything. Got back, installed new battery using non-metallic implement (my thumb) and went through the system change / real time clock is incorrect routine again, changed the time again - took the opportunity to nix the daylight savings setting at the same time seeing they don't have it here... and off we go. What will happen next time I boot up? I don't know. Hopefully we're all good.

SECOND PROBLEM

Couldn't help but notice that the sound was way over to the left. Right speaker working but not much... hmmm....

Changed the monitors over - it stayed left. Good, not the monitor then. Changed the cables from the interface to the headphone amp over - it stayed left... changed the cables from the headphone amp to the monitors over and it switched sides. Eureka! And here I was saying elsewhere that I used to be good at soldering... I even have an iron and some solder, but I think I'll just order a new pair of cables. I have way too much to do right now to be fucking around soldering shit.

THIRD PROBLEM

The interface is very noisy... no, wait, it isn't. That's @rayc 's issue. I can report, ray, that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with Qld electricity.

My actual third problem is that I don't have enough desk... still working out what can go on what. Could put some floating shelves up but the available ones are deep enough and then I've got wires going everywhere. I'll just have to stack monitors on things... stay tuned. First I'll see if the battery change worked, before I make any more moves.

[JD01]

I don't think I've ever had a computer live long enough to get a battery issue.

[rayc]

Nice one - I've come across the battery issue in other stuff ...mainly a drum machine...and I discovered it too late to save the machine's memory...it was bought in 86.
Qld power seems to be, generally okay then. I've run all the way down to having to get a power point/outlet tester to suss out wiring before running into the final possibilities...EMI or RFI.
Glad your problems have been solvable.

[CrowsofFritz]

The only battery I can think of is the motherboard battery that’s tied to the BIOS. I don’t think there’s any other batteries.

[Tadpui]

The CMOS battery does indeed keep parts of the motherboard powered up when the system is shut off. Depending upon how old or new the computer, there may be some BIOS configuration information that's cleared if the CMOS battery dies or is disconnected (mainly on newer computers). So if the computer is suddenly behaving differently than it was before the battery died, there might be some re-configuration needed in the BIOS menu. But it sounds like you've got it all sorted out now. Hopefully it's a trouble-free machine from now on!

[vomitHatSteve]

WHO KNEW THAT DESKTOP PCs HAD BATTERIES???????

The page loaded, and I immediately thought "oh, that's the mobo battery. It's a watch battery"

I've never burned one out but I have had to do the thing where you pull it out to reset the CMOS.

[Armistice]

I think that the machine wasn't turned on at all for at least 4 months probably didn't help!

Booted up fine just now, so hopefully that is problem is over. And new cases will solve the other in one, I'm hoping.