[SPARCbook] no boot?

[Ken Hansen]

The design of desktop SPARCs *may* influence laptop design, but I wonder
if Tadpole used an NVRAM chip like those found in desktop SPARCs - many
laptops will instead have a small litium battery to maintain the clock when
power
is removed. Once a LiON battery discharges, you simply re-charge it, W/O
reaching for a soldering iron/chip extractor.

I suspect that since it is quite possible for a laptop to sit idle for an
extended
period, and because they are so hard to open, that there is reason to
suspect
Tadpole may have gone for a more "modern" method. Accessing an NVRAM
chip in a SPARC workstation is a trivial matter, at least in all cases I am
familiar
with...

Ken

Note: When *my* SPARCbook sat idle waiting for me to find time to configure
it
I left it plugged in to an outlet, turned off. There does not appear to have
been any
degredation to the battery...

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kurt Huhn" <kurthuhn at k-huhn.com>
To: <sparcbook at sunhelp.org>
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2000 8:11 AM
Subject: Re: [SPARCbook] no boot?


> > Related question: How is one supposed to "store" the SPARCbook?
> > If I am going to not use my SPARCbook for, say, a few weeks, should
> > I leave it plugged in (and off) to keep the battery charged, or should I
> > pull the battery out of the unit for the duration?
> >
> > How about if I leave the unit off longer (greater than 10 weeks say)?
> >
> > Is there a concern about an internal battery "dying?"
>
> Of course I'm kidding - and your concerns are real ones.  For quite a
while
> I was unable to put the Tadpole patches on my system to get it to run
> Solaris 2.6.  It sat for quite some time, about 2 months if memory serves.
> When I finally pulled it out to work on it and get it running the internal
> battery was still holding a 33% charge - not to shabby.  However, I've
heard
> that if the unit (and any sparc) is turned off it begins to use the NVRAM
> battery to hold system info.  This is a concern with tadpoles, since the
> NVRAM/battery is not the same as another sparc (correct me if I'm wrong).
>
> I've not heard of any issues with dead NVRAMs in Sparcbooks, but that
> doesn't mean it doesn't happen.