I have a Dell Inspiron 3500 notebook with Windows 98 on it. It is 5 years old,  Lately it has been freezing up every time I log on - sometimes within 10 SECONDS of  typing but always within 10 minutes.  I can't out; everything is frozen.  


 I've run some Diagnostics, such as Dell Diagnostics and another utility, on it but nothing seems to turn up.   I hear that a CMOS battery dying could cause this problem, or just maybe overheating.  How can I determine this?



   How can I find out what CMOS battery this machine uses?  I don't see any identification of it under hardware infromation or in the manual. I don't see it on used parts sites either.  Is this a battery you can buy from Radio Shack or some other retailer?


   If the CMOS battery is the problem, where is it located?

  Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

                                               CMOS battery is not your problem.  Besides, it's not easily replaced even by a SKILLED technician.

Win98 will freeze up, when you sneeze (LOL).  It could be many things:  virus, spyware, something you recently installed.

If you have at lease 128MB MEMORY, upgrade to Win2k and you will be amazed at how fast it will go.  I've upgraded several 5 year old notebooks from Win98 to Win2k.

 I only have 96 MB RAM.

 I have unistalled almost everything from my computer - MS Office, Adobe, ETC.   I haven't installed anything new lately, no shareware or anything.  I have run repeated fixes on the registry, and have re-installed Windows 98 a few times.  I have entered in SafeMode, but I still have the same problem.   I have had Windows 98 problems before - shutdown problems, etc., but nothing that freezes the system regardless of what program you enter.

                I don't think Dell Diagnostics has turned up anything.  Is there any other way to check the CMOS or other POTENTIAL problems?If the system clock still keeps relatively good time, with the laptop off and unplugged from AC, CMOS battery is okay.