My lombard boots up and the time is screwed, usually 1904 or 1932 or something, it doesnt remember mouse/trackpad settings.. (so i guess PRAM)

Also the battery I have doesnt work AT ALL. I have a "red X" over the battery symbol in the finder menu in MAC OS 8.6.

Someone told me it could be a problem with the charger / power jack on the logic board, and it's not charging the machine, etc?

Or is this a simple pram dead, and battery dead problem?

please advise....

Thanks, James

My Lombard used to reboot with the date at 1904 or 1970 occasionally under 8.6.
It has never done it since I upgraded to a new HD (20GB) and OS 9.2.2 and 10.2.X.
As I recall, it did this most often when it had been put to sleep, unplugged and then left untouched for long periods of time (ie there was no charge at all left in the battery).
This could be symptomatic of a dead PRAM battery. But if the PRAM batt is capable of recharging at all (which I assume it is, or else machines would reset every time the battery ran out or got switched off) then it could simply be the main battery causing the trouble.
If your machine still works with the AC adaptor, that would suggest that nothing is (drastically) wrong with the Power Management unit (on the logic board).
These machines are starting to get on a bit, so it wouldn't surprise me if the battery has just given up the ghost. It could also have sustained some (invisible) physical damage at some point like a loose connection stopping it from charging.
I would start with a new battery. Probably cheaper than having a techie examine your machine (just to tell you to buy a new battery anyway) and fix the PMU.
If it turns out to be something else, you can either sell it or you'll have a nice new battery when you get the machine fixed. (Bet the old one didn't hold charge like it used to anyway)

The date and time error is usually resolved by changing the PRAM battery. The battery issue is most likely not related, and is likely just a dead battery that needs to be replaced. You can purchase a replacement PRAM battery from our online store at the link below:

http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/cu ... t=0&page=1

-Bradley
PowerbookMedic