i don't think it's mentioned in the service docs actually...  i believe that dell sells it as part of the mainboard, so i'm not sure if you're going to have problems finding a replacement or not...

could you send me a link or something of where this thing is after I remove the keyboard?

is it in plain sight?

thanks for posting

You will have to remove your keyboard in order to access the CMOS battery.

thanks a lot, but im not even entirely convinced it actually is the cmos which is causing the issue, id obviously like to replace it if possible to test the theory but it sounds like I might not be able to. Could it possibly be anything else?

that would do it ...  if the clock time doesn't reset or loose time when the primary battery and AC is removed, then the CMOS battery is likely fine

an embarrassing post...

I opened up another program that said something was 343 days old....
I forgot to change the year along with the time and date, so I expect thats whats been giving me problems.

my bad
thanks anyway

Don't consider your post embarrassing as it adds to the all-round general knowledge within these forums.