MINIX clock wrong.

iamhondo

iamhondo

New member
I've had my MINIX for a while (almost two years). Recently it's showing a growing problem with the time.

The first I thing I noticed is that it had the wrong time at startup. Basically, it remembered the last shutdown time and started up with that time. I could reset it through different tactics (eg turn on/off auto time set) and then it kept good time while it was running.

Just recently, that degraded: It now loses track of time even while it's running.

Is there a battery inside that manages the clock? If so, how hard is it to get inside and change it?

Thanks, Joe
 
Yes, there's a small battery on the PCBA board that maintains the clock.

How to get inside?
Just remove the four rubber feet, and then remove the 4 screws by using a screwdriver.

Then you're able to unpack the box and change a battery.

1553844974800.png
 
MINIX – Martin said:
Yes, there's a small battery on the PCBA board that maintains the clock.

How to get inside?
Just remove the four rubber feet, and then remove the 4 screws by using a screwdriver.

Then you're able to unpack the box and change a battery.

View attachment 550
Click to expand...

Thanks for the video and details.

I was able to open the back and see the battery. It tested at 2.5 volts. I think that's a poor voltage. If it's rechargeable, it's worse: The PC was on for many hours last night before I shut it off. Any recharging should have been done. And as I pointed out, the clock time reliability degenerates the longer PC runs and there's 0 clock motion when the PC is off. So it seems the battery is not recharging and is unusable.
IMG_7059 50.JPG IMG_7058 50.JPG

Unfortunately, it's not a user-friendly process to change to a new battery. The protective yellow coating needed to be cut off to test the battery. The electrodes are glued, soldered or welded on the battery. I was expecting the normal spring-loaded holder for a CR2032 battery.

The battery wires go to a plug-in connector. Unfortunately, my careful attempts to release that connector didn't work. I didn't want to force the issue.

Has anyone changed a battery on a Z83-4? Does MINIX provide a battery with cover and attached wires and a connector as a single item to replace failing batteries?

Thanks, Joe
 
Skynet said:
No it's not, don't even try it can explode !
Click to expand...

Thanks for the confirmation about putting caution ahead of surgery.

Meanwhile, is there any way for me to get a working battery and system clock? (Also asking for everyone else who will have this problem in the future as batteries wear out.)

I'll try asking again with more detail:

1) Can/does MINIX provide a replacement assembly so a user can remove the battery, wires and connector and replace the dead/dying battery by plugging in a new battery, wires, connector??

2) If a user can't replace the crucial battery, can MINIX do the replacement as a repair process?

Joe
 
After 3-4 years, I've had the same problem with the clock losing its sync. Now it's to the point where it won't even keep time while it's turned on. That's a killer because I use it to watch TV with a wireless connection, synced to a DISH Hopper. If the clock on the receiving PC doesn't match the clock on the Hopper, no streaming is possible.

I opened the case and found the battery is in a plastic sleeve, labeled as a CR2032. The plug on the end of the pigtail will pop loose with a bit of persuasion, and there is no lock on it. Here's a photo of the battery with plastic removed:

Minix battery-small.jpg
I took the battery and pigtail to the workbench, cut off the plastic sleeve, and found that the battery has contacts soldered on, and my good quality soldering station can't release the solder even at its top setting.

Then I realized I have an option. I don't have to connect a battery to THOSE contacts, I can cut the wires and connect to a battery case of some kind with a wire pigtail and a CR2032 in it. Amazon has such compact cases at $8 per five, and there should be room inside the Minix case for them.

The cases are ordered and I should have them in a few days.

Here's an image of the battery case I plan to use:

Battery case.jpg
 
Last edited:
Pilgrim said:
After 3-4 years, I've had the same problem with the clock losing its sync. Now it's to the point where it won't even keep time while it's turned on. That's a killer because I use it to watch TV with a wireless connection, synced to a DISH Hopper. If the clock on the receiving PC doesn't match the clock on the Hopper, no streaming is possible.

I opened the case and found the battery is in a plastic sleeve, labeled as a CR2032. The plug on the end of the pigtail will pop loose with a bit of persuasion, and there is no lock on it. Here's a photo of the battery with plastic removed:

View attachment 1758
I took the battery and pigtail to the workbench, cut off the plastic sleeve, and found that the battery has contacts soldered on, and my good quality soldering station can't release the solder even at its top setting.

Then I realized I have an option. I don't have to connect a battery to THOSE contacts, I can cut the wires and connect to a battery case of some kind with a wire pigtail and a CR2032 in it. Amazon has such compact cases at $8 per five, and there should be room inside the Minix case for them.

The cases are ordered and I should have them in a few days.

Here's an image of the battery case I plan to use:

View attachment 1759
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for sharing :). Very useful when someone with the particular skills to look into these sort of issues pops up once in a while :).
 
Pilgrim said:
After 3-4 years, I've had the same problem with the clock losing its sync. Now it's to the point where it won't even keep time while it's turned on. That's a killer because I use it to watch TV with a wireless connection, synced to a DISH Hopper. If the clock on the receiving PC doesn't match the clock on the Hopper, no streaming is possible.

I opened the case and found the battery is in a plastic sleeve, labeled as a CR2032. The plug on the end of the pigtail will pop loose with a bit of persuasion, and there is no lock on it. Here's a photo of the battery with plastic removed:

View attachment 1758
I took the battery and pigtail to the workbench, cut off the plastic sleeve, and found that the battery has contacts soldered on, and my good quality soldering station can't release the solder even at its top setting.

Then I realized I have an option. I don't have to connect a battery to THOSE contacts, I can cut the wires and connect to a battery case of some kind with a wire pigtail and a CR2032 in it. Amazon has such compact cases at $8 per five, and there should be room inside the Minix case for them.

The cases are ordered and I should have them in a few days.

Here's an image of the battery case I plan to use:

View attachment 1759
Click to expand...
You can buy CR2032 with the leads on Amazon but you may have to buy 5 pcs!

Battery compartment may be the better, cheaper option, even though you have 4 that you don't necessarily need, they are more useful though than 4 CR2032 with leads!

Let us know how you get on!


CR2032 CMOS.jpg
 
Follow-up: I was careless and hadn't checked the voltage of the existing battery, which tests at 3.2V. That leaves the question of whether it's the battery or not, but makes it unlikely. I'm not at all sure this is the problem, but If not, I'm searching for the actual problem.

I can set the clock manually, but the computer loses about 1 minute per hour, even after being synced to Internet time in the settings.

I have two styles of battery cases ordered via Amazon ($8 each, big deal, well worth experimenting) so I'll have the option of replacing the battery. My new replacement tested 3.3V which does not seem a like a significant difference.

Incidentally, even when I have the clock synced I have a lot of pauses in the playback of video from the DISHanywhere system. I'm on a 5 GHZ wireless, so I'm surprised that it's as glitchy as it is.

I will report later. Any thoughts on the clock are welcomed.
 
I contacted Minix via email at the address given in post #8. Since my Minix is out of warranty, they offered to estimate a repair if I shipped it to Hong Kong, but I have to admit that's not an attractive option. Shipping both ways would not be cheap. I may eventually change my mind, but I have already bought an Intel Compute Stick to replace this, and frankly it's much faster and has more memory.

They were kind enough to offer to send me another factory battery with pigtail, saying that was their only option to having it in hand to repair. I think that's quite kind - it's possible that one of the wires between the battery and the plug on the pigtail has failed and the battery is OK but not able to connect to the circuit.

So I'll install the battery when it arrives and see what it does for the Minix. I also have both sets of battery cases from Amazon in case someone has a dead battery and wants to replace theirs. It would be a simple conversion.

EDIT: At this point I'm pursuing it out of curiosity. I have replaced the Minix with an Intel Compute Stick which is faster, has more memory, will run Win10 updates, and streams video smoothly, which the Minix did not do.
 
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Battery arrived today and looked identical to the other. Here is the OLD battery with the insulating cover removed. Note the pigtail and connector:

Bat-3.jpg


I installed the new battery and it DID correct the clock problem!! Good news!!

I may be guilty of reversing the connector when re-installing the porevious one, so I thought I'd share photos.

Here is a look at the end of the connector. It's quite small, but you can see the holes in the connector are slightly offset from the center:

Bat-1.jpg

In order to connect them, you must install the connector right-side up, which places the holes closest to the mother board. Here is a shot of the side of the connector which faces up:

Bat-2.jpg

The side of the connector which shows in this photo goes UP, away from the motherboard. it's not that hard to get in place, but a set of needle nose pliers come in very handy.

So after about three hours, the clock in my Z83-4 is keeping time properly. I will find a new use for it, as I replaced it with an Intel Compute Stick in its previous location.

BTW - and not related to the clock problem - I finally noticed that there is a slot in the side of the Z83-4 labeled TF, so it should accept an SD-micro card in that slot. Perhaps that will end the perpetual problem with the Minix not having enough memory to run Windows 10 updates.
 
Pilgrim said:
I finally noticed that there is a slot in the side of the Z83-4 labeled TF, so it should accept an SD-micro card in that slot. Perhaps that will end the perpetual problem with the Minix not having enough memory to run Windows 10 updates.
Click to expand...
Just be aware that there have been driver issues with Micro SD Cards.
https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/neo-z83-4-manually-install-the-driver.31/post-17056
https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/sd-card-not-recognized.368/post-2313
 
Pilgrim said:
Battery arrived today and looked identical to the other. Here is the OLD battery with the insulating cover removed. Note the pigtail and connector:

View attachment 1801


I installed the new battery and it DID correct the clock problem!! Good news!!

I may be guilty of reversing the connector when re-installing the porevious one, so I thought I'd share photos.

Here is a look at the end of the connector. It's quite small, but you can see the holes in the connector are slightly offset from the center:

View attachment 1802

In order to connect them, you must install the connector right-side up, which places the holes closest to the mother board. Here is a shot of the side of the connector which faces up:

View attachment 1803

The side of the connector which shows in this photo goes UP, away from the motherboard. it's not that hard to get in place, but a set of needle nose pliers come in very handy.

So after about three hours, the clock in my Z83-4 is keeping time properly. I will find a new use for it, as I replaced it with an Intel Compute Stick in its previous location.

BTW - and not related to the clock problem - I finally noticed that there is a slot in the side of the Z83-4 labeled TF, so it should accept an SD-micro card in that slot. Perhaps that will end the perpetual problem with the Minix not having enough memory to run Windows 10 updates.
Click to expand...
Thanks for confirming the replacement RTC battery fixed the problem.
 
Pilgrim said:
After 3-4 years, I've had the same problem with the clock losing its sync. Now it's to the point where it won't even keep time while it's turned on. That's a killer because I use it to watch TV with a wireless connection, synced to a DISH Hopper. If the clock on the receiving PC doesn't match the clock on the Hopper, no streaming is possible.

I opened the case and found the battery is in a plastic sleeve, labeled as a CR2032. The plug on the end of the pigtail will pop loose with a bit of persuasion, and there is no lock on it. Here's a photo of the battery with plastic removed:

View attachment 1758
I took the battery and pigtail to the workbench, cut off the plastic sleeve, and found that the battery has contacts soldered on, and my good quality soldering station can't release the solder even at its top setting.

Then I realized I have an option. I don't have to connect a battery to THOSE contacts, I can cut the wires and connect to a battery case of some kind with a wire pigtail and a CR2032 in it. Amazon has such compact cases at $8 per five, and there should be room inside the Minix case for them.

The cases are ordered and I should have them in a few days.

Here's an image of the battery case I plan to use:

View attachment 1759
Click to expand...
did that work? how do you connect this plastic case to the board?
 
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