Alienware 3450i strange BIOS problem

Hi,this has me stumped.I have a 3450i laptop that I bought used and didnt work.I replaced the CPU and installed a hard drive and windows 7.I got all the drivers from the AW site and it works good,the only problem is as long as I leave it plugged into the AC it starts normal but if its unplugged and on battery (witch is new also)when I start it it gives me a error and resets the BIOS to default 2005 so I replaced the BIOS battery twice but that didnt help.Could this need a upgraded BIOS or is the mobo bad?

PS. I changed the CPU from a t2300 to a t5500,maybe it requires a different BIOS?

 

From the details you have given if this only happens when on battery power, it's probably the battery. Even though your battery is new it is probably not an official Alienware battery since this unit has not been made for many years now. Where did you get your battery from? My guess would be its a cheap poorly made battery from ebay, is not supplying your laptop with proper power / is faulty, and that is your problem.

 

That sounded good so I got the old battery out and charged it,and tried it,the same thing.I was just checking and found out that the t2300 only works with 32 bit and thats what was in it before I put the t5500 in it and loaded windows 7 64 bit.So would the BIOS need to be changed? Another thing is when this happens I have to push the power button two times to get it to turn on.Makes two beeps when it resets to default.

 

The versions of windows (32 or 64) you used would have NOTHING to do with BIOS errors you see when booting only from the battery. Whether you use a 64-bit or 32-bit OS would also have NOTHING to do with which BIOS version you use.

I am still in the school of thought that either the original battery is garbage from being so old and the new one is cheap OR there is something wrong with the battery port / connector on the laptop.

What happens when you power the laptop by A/C power and leave the battery out? Same as when it's in?

 

It starts up fine on AC with the battery out,same as on AC with battery in.The new battery is a cheap ebay battery and the old one I think is OEM but it only last about 4-5 mins.

 

So do you still think its a battery problem? I guess it will just be a desktop pc then.Thanks for your time and input.

 

I am not promising it will fix your problem, but if you want a good battery I would recommend purchasing one from AtBatt.com. I did back in 2009 and got a very high quality replacement battery for my alienware. I would assume they still offer the same high quality products. They also offer a student discount if you call / email them.

 

I have tried different batteries and I think its a motherboard problem.Thanks for trying to help.