NUC replacing CMOS battery

[SM4]

I know this is not the perfect forum match but I am desperate.

NUC D54250WYKH : Cant remove motherboard to replace CMOS battery.

The audio jack sticks out past the frame/body preventing motherboard from being lowered out of the box. Have not found any information on web in 2 weeks of searching.

Seems the jack must be removable because somehow it was assembled.

I know its an old system but it has served me well over 10 years. It is still my main system.

Any help would be appreciated. Next step might have to be removing part of the box.

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

There is a video that walks you through this process: Intel NUC D54250WYK - Motherboard and cooler removal.

...S

[SM4]

Thanks * 1e6.

I thought this would be too old to get anyone's attention.

Unfortunately the D54250WYKH seems to be sufficiently different to the D54250WYK (no H) that the procedure in the video does not work. There also seem to be differences in the layout of the internals.

FYI the enclosed pdf shows the problem. I am contemplating removing the "prongs" on the audio socket. Their function is not obvious unless they just prevent the audio jack from sticking in too far.

Thanks

S

[n_scott_pearson]

No, the motherboards used in the WYK and WYKH are the exact same. The only difference, implied by the addition of the 'H', is that this is the tall chassis with 2.5" SATA drive bay and, consequently, there are differences in things like the conductive foam pads added. I use a small slot screwdriver and (gently!) pry out the chassis wall until the connector will pass by. I have transferred motherboards from one chassis type to the other on multiple occasions (I was part of the design team).

As for what's in the video, I do not know the pedigree of the system that they had, but it could have been a pre-production or engineering sample system and thus there could be slight differences. It is also possible that they came from different factory runs and thus could have had 'cost reduction'-type changes made to them.

...S

[SM4]

You have made my day.

I put together a NUC D34010WYKH some 10 years ago, it has run flawlessly, it is my main machine to this day. I use it daily for everything, spreadsheets, photo editing, programming etc. Works great with two large landscape monitors.

3 years ago I bought a used D54250WYKH "as a spare" just in case.

A couple of weeks ago the D34010WYKH started to boot up with the wrong date. I suspected the CMOS battery. And one day I got the "CMOS msg" that battery might be bad.

On the Intel website I learned that the typical life of the battery was 3 years maybe a bit longer under some conditions. So I did really well.

Because I did not want to mess up the D34010WYKH , I decided to practice on the D54250WYKH because that was at least 5 years old.

Incidentally, I had a hard time finding a battery because on the Intel website the spec was a CR2023 with Molex connector which had a suffix. JAMECO has a CR2032 with Molex but with a different suffix. I reached out to Molex and the said they only have one CR2032 with Molex connector and they do not put a suffix on it.

So I until I open either NUC, I will not know if the JAMECO batteries I bought will fit. The web had many stories of batteries that did not fit.

Thanks again. I gave you a Kudos.

S

[SM4]

While I much appreciated the above detailed response, I have been unable to access the CMOS battery on any of my NUCs: one a D54250WYKH and the other a D34010WYKH. The above responses suggested that there were many engineering variations in the NUCs and a suggestion that the side of the box could be bent to remove the board with the CMOS battery. Unfortunately there is absolutely no possibility of bending either of my box walls to give the audio interface any clearance. Indeed it is a mystery to me how these could be assembled.

So for now I give up and when I boot up I just have to set the system time manually.

I will try to buy a 3rd NUC so I can literally tear it to pieces to try to figure this out. I am on the verge of using my Dremel to just cut the box but fear of filings getting in the electronics has so far stopped me.

Why am I so hung up and not just tossed it away? Well I have spent 10 years using it and have it setup with a lot of customized software. 10 years is about 3 or 4x longer than Intel predicted for the battery so I guess I cant complain.

Also I really do not want to be beaten by this.

SM4

[SM4]

Correction to above.

I rewatched the video that Scott Pearson suggested right at the beginning. 

This time when I did the suggested, pry under ethernet port, the motherboard popped out so fast I did not see how it happened.

(I think previously I had not removed the audio connector plastic cover).

So finally I got to see the CMOS battery.

But no good deed goes unpunished.

1) When I looked inside the case there are two copper strips taped down with clear tape, on opposite sides of the chassis bottom. One has a black wire, the other a grey wire. They meet on one side of the chassis, taped together with black tape, and end in gold connectors, each completely encased in a short clear plastic tubing.

I cannot find any connectors or pins that they might have come off. And I cannot find on the web any explanation of what they might be for.

2) The old CMOS battery and the new CMAS battery have the black and red leads interchanged. Found one video on the web that referred to this issue.  The solution was to swap the leads on the new battery and accept INTEL's design, for whatever reason.

So thanks again to Scott for actually showing me the solution to removing the motherboard. Anyone know what the copper strips are for?

[n_scott_pearson]

Regarding your issues/questions,

1. Those black and grey wires are the internal antennas for a Wireless solution. Those (electrically isolated) copper strips are the head ends of these internal antennas. You connect these wires to the Wireless card, which you would add via the PCIe Half Mini Wireless (HMW, a.k.a. M.1) connector on the motherboard. I am surprised that neither of your NUCs came with a Wireless card installed.
2. Yea, Intel's NUCs went one way and Dell went the other. Considering that NUC sales volumes were insignificant in comparison with that of Dell, Dell's version of the connector has become the more-prevalent in the marketplace. No worries, just swap the pins in the connector shell and you are good to go.

My Wife's PC is (also) a D54250WYKH NUC and I can guarantee that it's been running longer than yours. It's never had any problems at all. It does everything that she needs, as fast as she needs, and she won't let me replace it, despite the fact that I have many (*way* too many) newer, more advanced models that she could choose from.

...S