How to replace the eeePC 1005HA CMOS backup battery

All small white things are good
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The eeePC 1005 is still a nice little netbook. Despite owning an iPad and them apparently being all the craze, I still prefer being productive on my eeePC.

However if you’ve got one, its likely getting a bit long in the tooth by now.

Getting BIOS setting errors on each boot up of your eeePC? If it’s asking you to reload setup defaults by pressing F2 every time you turn it on, it’s probably time to replace the CMOS backup battery.

With a hefty disclaimer of me not being responsible for anything you do or don’t do… here’s how:

First buy a replacement battery. It is an ML 1220 3V rechargeable button battery. eBay or Amazon will be your best bets. If you can get one with metal contacts pre-soldered to the battery, it will make your life easier. Don’t get a CR1220 — those are non-rechargeable.

When ready, it’s time to open up the eeePC.

1. Unplug the eeePC and remove the main battery.

2. Turn the netbook upside down and remove the four Philips screws, one in each corner. Unscrew the memory flap on the bottom to find a fifth screw inside. Unscrew that too.

Unscrew the five screws

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Ubuntu (Lucid) on Gigabyte x58a-ud3r

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I just upgraded my main desktop PC, running Ubuntu 10.04 (“Lucid Lynx”). After an 8-year hiatus, I’m back on Intel, with a nice new Core i7 930 and a Gigabyte x58a-ud3r.

There’s not a great deal to write about compatibility, as everything “just worked” out of the box.

The upgrade went well — one of the great things about Linux is how well it takes to a complete brain transplant. No HAL trouble or “repair install” nonsense that you get on Windows.

Here are the things I had to do after the upgrade to get a 100% perfect system…

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Perfect Ubuntu Jaunty on the Asus eeePC 1005HA (and 1008HA)

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The 1005HA is one of the brand new Asus eeePC netbooks, and it is a great little machine — aside from the fact that it comes with Windows XP or a dumbed-down customised Xandros (allegedly — as time goes on, Asus seem to be selling out to Microsoft).

As the 1005HA is pretty new, it has a few odd hardware quirks that won’t be fully supported out of the box until the next release of Ubuntu.

Here I run through what I did to end up with a 100% working install — including all Fn hotkeys. The good news is that it is very easy!

My perfect Ubuntu setup on the 1005HA

My perfect Ubuntu setup on the 1005HA

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