I’m mad as hell . . . I’ve purchased a mini-pc from ASUS and I’ve checked all of the mini-pc computer manufacturers that are out there and not one is built with an easy accessible bios battery replacement that can be changed out when the battery dies. . . . Talk about filling up the landfills with electronic waste. . . I see ASUS also has a crappy record for consumer support also. . . I will never buy their products ever again. My bios went out about a week ago and the battery is the culprit. . . everytime I boot up the system I have to go in and change the date in the e-prom chip. . . Getting to the battery is a nightmare also. . . . disassembly is a nightmare and I’m sure reassembling the unit is also. . . . why do consumers put up with this crap? Up to now it’s been running great and EndeavourOS works like a charm. It is an AMD platform with processor and built in graphics chip. Never again. . . I’m up in arms about this. . .
Because not enough actually know what the problem is and repair prices for those who don’t know what they are doing can come close to the cost of just buying another machine at times
@rich52, I think I know what you mean with respect to the CMOS batteries on these. I recall having had a similar issue with another mini-PC brand (was either Intel NUC, Gigabyte Brix or MSI Cubi, it’s been a while).
In the end we were able to resolve it with a watch battery and some heat shrink to secure the battery contacts. I reckon there would be a way to make it work, it may just require a bit of tinkering (don’t solder anything to a battery!).
Are you able to share a photo of the current CMOS battery?
This was what I had in mind, if it’s the sort of battery you have.
I’m sure it’s something very similar to your picture. . . . the problem is tearing down the whole unit. . . with the minuscule screws ( a lot of them). It’s got 32 gig of ram, a nvme 1000 Gig drive module and a 1000 Gig mini hard drive also inside. It’s located on the bottom side of the board, underneath a metal chassis which has to be removed to access the bottom side of the whole unit. A cooling fan is also located underneath. . . . A simple redesign of the whole unit could in-cooperate a removable 2032 battery with a socket like on a motherboard. The unit is 2.5 years old. They say that it would take up too much room for a simple design to do a simple remove and replacement of the battery. I think this is just rubbish. . . . It’s built this way all by design. If you can fix it yourself you’ll pay them or somebody the price of a new unit just for a battery replacement. That’s what burns my ass. Throw away by design with built in obsolescence . They’ve lost me as a customer for good.
I also looked into 3 or 4 other brands made in China and they have the same design issues with batteries such as the one in your picture. . . Garbage. . .
Rich
Does anyone make magnetic screwdrivers for screw removal and replacment? Just wondering. . .
Yer I have a few and got them cheap a k-mart or big-w when I bought them
Even local hardware store should be able to help, call first and what I find is if they can’t help they tend to know someone who can
You can magnetise a metal screwdriver yourself. With a strong magnet (assuming you have one), just wipe it along the last inch or so of the screwdriver, from handle to tip, until you’re satisfied with the magnetism.
I’ve done PC/laptop repairs for my day job. Can’t tell you how many motherboard replacements could’ve been dealt with just a simple CMOS battery replacement. These big companies don’t give a F, they just replace EVERYTHING to be efficient. Usually at the customer’s expense, time-wise that is.
iFixit will probably have some sort of teardown tutorial for any type of PC. Check their website out.
And honestly, anything is easier than a Dell laptop keyboard replacement. Those require FULL teardown and then the key board assembly has another 100 + tiny screws.
Maybe it is because DIY/BIY is out of fashion. When a company provides a product to consumers it saves a lot of time on the consumer side. In simpler words it is very convenient.
But yeah planned obsolescence or built in obsolescence is nasty and very bad.
And yes ASUS product support is pretty bad. Comparable to ACER. That is why I swear by DELL. The problem, DELL sells hardware which is old. If you can live with it DELL is the the way to go. HP,. ASUS and ACER come after that.
we will have devolved as a species if that happens. if fixing stuff yourself goes by the wayside we will go backwards into the neanderthal.
the only way to escape this loop is to keep turning back to sh** that worked, and not even that is sustainable anymore but yet I persist because I like things to work.
you didn’t trust them before you gave them your money…these are our options anymore for new sh**.
yep. mine too.
Saddest thread I’ve read here this year, and the most real, and the most sobering.
Its accepted as common practice by social contract. There is literally no other stuff in production.
Same as - everyone can own a toxic fumes producing extremely dangerous personal car stuff.
This is a bit more deep and complex rather than oh dont buy this or that. You dont have much of a choise
I remember someone complaining about me smoking once and pointed out that the road outside has more toxic fumes than the cigarettes I smoke from the cars travelling on it. They told me not to use the road then, like what? I don’t smoke around those who don’t and put them out if someone asks nicely, yet to see someone it car do that
Yes. This is exactly it
Its even worse, it is accepted that killing people with cars just normal part of a life.
Not because there is any logic or benefit for society in it. Usually reasons for such things much more religios that people tend to think.
So, with planned obsolecense, right thing to do is to support or join consumer rights movements, Like Luis Rossman stuff. And try to shift social contract to less horrible direction.
BTW this is why self driving cars not happened 40-30 years ago, and not much happening today. Not because autopilot worse than human driver, but because law and society need to allow “AI” to kill people.
Human society not yet there. But going there
by design.