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Q & A
Question:
How does one change the CMOS battery in the
computer?
Answer:
First, for those who just came in, let's have a quick
CMOS tutorial.
The CMOS, or Complementary Metal Oxide
Semiconductor, is a small chip with a very big
responsibility. It stores information about your
computer's setup, its components, and the correct
date and time.
The power for the CMOS chip comes from a little
battery on the motherboard. The battery has a life
expectancy of two to five years. If you have a
newer computer, changing the battery is
comparatively easy, because the battery resembles
the kind that goes into your watch. Slip out the
old, slip in the new.
If your computer is more than three or so years
old, replacing the battery will cost you.
In older machines the CMOS battery, which might
be one of almost 30 kinds, is usually soldered on
to the motherboard.
Unless you like messing around with wire cutters
and soldering tools inside a computer, a qualified
technician will have to tackle job.
About now you are scratching the back of your
head because it has struck you that when you take
out your old battery, you are likely to lose all the
CMOS information.
Good catch.
If you have a really, really new machine it will do
a quick inventory of itself on bootup and will reset
the CMOS automatically. More than likely,
though, you will have to reset the CMOS yourself.
So, before you rip out your old battery, record
your CMOS settings. You should do that in any
case, come to think of it.
When you start your computer, watch for the "If
you want to enter Set Up, hit the Del key now"
message. In some computers, the appropriate key
may be F1 or F10.
Hit that key.
When Set Up emerges, you will see several menus.
Open each one and note what is on every line.
After you have replaced your battery and reboot,
you'll need to go into Set-Up utility again to
reconfigure the computer properly.
If you want a fail-safe way to back up and restore
the settings, you can turn to a program such as
Norton Utilities. It will make a copy of your Setup
parameters on a floppy disk and will help you
restore them when the time comes.
Another option is to use International Systems
Inc.'s BatteryDisk.
That $20 program, which is available at most
computer stores, will not only copy and restore
CMOS settings automatically, but will also get
your computer up and keep it running until you
have time to replace the battery. More
information: 1-800-248-4217.
Question:
What's a cookie?
Answer:
In physical space, cookies are the chocolate-chip
sweets Mom bakes. In cyberspace, cookies make
use of invisible bits of information to "follow" you.
Think of them as little gifts; not for you, but for
the people who run the Web site you're visiting.
Often, without your knowledge, Web sites keep a
persistent client state file, or cookie, which
contains information about you. Many people
don't know, or don't care, about cookies.
According to the Georgia Institute of Technology
survey, 25 percent of respondents don't know
what cookies are. And only 23 percent of
respondents receive a warning on their browser
before cookies are sent.
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