CMOS battery length

[ak3883]

Does anyone know how long a CMOS battery can hold the BIOS settings before it loses all it's juice? Is it like 3 days, or 3 months? I should unplug my computer before leaving for college breaks, I want to know if the BIOS settings will last if I do, that's all. Any help is greatly appriciated!

[EdT]

A new lithium CR-2302 battery should be good for 3 years or more in your system at room temperature.

[D`Sypher]

Edt is partially right.

The battery shold last for 3 years, but that is from the date the mainboard was manufactured.

In addition it will last almost forever if you keep your computer plugged in as it gets help from the external powersource.

[Kurylo]

3-5 years.

[rangeral]

Then again if your system is 3yrs old then I would think about changing the battery now, your settings should keep for a few minutes while you change the battery.

[Kurylo]

What's the problem? I got the idea, that if a middle PC user upgrades his CPU (and mainly mobo too) every half of a year, there is not much to worry about.

[D`Sypher]

kurylo has a poin, even if you upgrade only every other year.