We recently had a widespread power outage here in New England. When the power came back on and I booted up my computer, I got a warning message that my system battery voltage was low. (I have a 4 year old Dell Desktop Dimension E521 with Vista OS.)

After Googling the problem the discussions ranged from replacing the battery (I did that) and buying a new power cord- did that too. I'm still getting the low voltage message but don't know why. Any suggestions? I have computers a lot older than this one that are still running fine on the original batteries.

The batteries are trickle charged when the PC is on. Have you run it for extended periods?

Lately I've been using my desktop only on the weekends - I use my lap top during the week. On Saturday and Sunday my desktop is on for most of the day. Maybe I should leave it on for longer periods of time.

The computer seems to be running OK, just a little slower during websurfing. And sometimes, I'll click on a link that Windows says it cannot open - I never used to get error messages like that. Then later I'll try the same link and it will open just fine.

Is this the CMOS battery it's talking about?


If it "opens just fine" sometimes and not others, it doesn't sound like a problem with your computer so much as a problem with your ISP.

Today my computer booted up normally, no warning message, and even a little quicker than usual. I'm going to try to use it more frequently and to keep the power cord turned on all the time. I have previously been turning it off when ever I shut down the computer.

Jenny, I'm not sure what the battery is called - it looks like a large watch battery, about the size of a quarter. It's a Duracell, #2023 (I think - lost the card it came on).

My ISP is Fairpoint - need I say more? People in New England know what I mean, although it's not as bad as it once was.

Sounds like a CMOS battery to me.