What model is the backup battery?
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What model is the backup battery?
Ok guys i couldnt find this at all searching through the forums what is the model of the backup battery in the Panasonic FZ1 ? CR2032? CR2354?
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you know you would think that would be mentioned somewhere in the world of google or on this site, but all it ever says is blah blah blah Ram (battery backup)3DO Experience wrote:it's a CR2354
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NVRAM only means non-volatile RAM. It doesn't say anything about the technology behind. You probably think of flash memory, but that wasn't used back then. The 3DO's NVRAM is simply implemented as conventional RAM with a backup battery.Mobius wrote:Wait, what? The 3DO has NVRAM. It doesn't need a battery.
WindowsKiller wrote:NVRAM only means non-volatile RAM. It doesn't say anything about the technology behind. You probably think of flash memory, but that wasn't used back then. The 3DO's NVRAM is simply implemented as conventional RAM with a backup battery.Mobius wrote:Wait, what? The 3DO has NVRAM. It doesn't need a battery.
Errr... "Non-volatile" inherently means that it doesn't lose its data when it loses power, so no battery needed. If there is a battery needed for the 3DO's memory, then my system must have a hell of one in it, because I've never needed to replace it in the 9 years I've had it!
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3DO needs no battery to remember data, that is the point of NVRAM. Why there is a battery in the 3DO (FZ-01 at least) is beyond me. I just know it has a fixed one on the main board and that it's a CR2354. I should have stated that it is not a backup battery when the question was asked.
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-32kb battery backed up SRAM
from section 3.16
http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.p ... 2#section3
i dont understand console technical data to much, but what does the SRAM do for the system and why does it need a battery?
from section 3.16
http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.p ... 2#section3
i dont understand console technical data to much, but what does the SRAM do for the system and why does it need a battery?
Ex-3DO collector extraordinaire , but i still have my collection
Villagephotos is dead, need to find my old pics and find another host
Villagephotos is dead, need to find my old pics and find another host
Well, the answer of what SRAM does for the 3DO is pretty simple... Nothing. Since it doesn't use SRAM. That page is just wrong. [Correction: Actually, it's me who was wrong! It seems it is SRAM with a battery.]Lemmi wrote:-32kb battery backed up SRAM
from section 3.16
http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.p ... 2#section3
i dont understand console technical data to much, but what does the SRAM do for the system and why does it need a battery?
But in more general terms, SRAM is a type of volatile RAM, in that it will lose its data if it loses power. Therefore, it needs a battery to supply it power when the system is off or unplugged. NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) keeps its data even when it loses power.
The 3DO has 32kb of NVRAM, not 32kb of SRAM. There's a whole section on it in the SDK:
That doesn't really answer the question of why the 3DO has any battery on its motherboard at all, though. A lot of electronics will have batteries on the motherboards to keep an internal clock running, but I have no idea if the 3DO has any sort of internal clock. Maybe files in the NVRAM get timestamps? So, at worst, if the battery dies, then the system's internal clock resets every time you turn it off.Working With NVRAM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Portfolio operating system treats NVRAM-nonvolatile random access memory-as a file system volume. This maintains consistency for I/O operations; you use the same steps for accessing NVRAM as you do for all other files. Portfolio also provides an NVRAM maintenance utility called lmadm. See the 3DO Debugger Programmer's Guide, "Terminal Window Commands," for full details.
A minimally configured 3DO system has at least 32 KB of NVRAM. Application developers can use this facility for persistent storage of small pieces of data. Practical uses include providing a game saving feature, to save user preference settings, or to store application configuration information.
Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably a CMOS battery for the BIOS. I can't think of anything that could possibly go wrong when it dies, though. It's not like there are customized BIOS settings that can be lost.
Last edited by Mobius on Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Again, NVRAM is not a technology, it only means "RAM that keeps its data when the system no longer run on mains". How this is achieved is not important.
NVRAM can be flash memory these days, but also SRAM backed up by a battery. And that is exactly what it is in the 3DO, and also in the Sega Saturn, the CD-i, etc.
NVRAM can be flash memory these days, but also SRAM backed up by a battery. And that is exactly what it is in the 3DO, and also in the Sega Saturn, the CD-i, etc.
See, this is what you confuse. CMOS is a technology and stands for "complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor". CMOS devices have very low power consumption, and this is why they are often used for... well, guess it... NVRAM.Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably a CMOS battery for the BIOS.
Thank goodness I've never run into the same issues w/3DO that I did w/my cd-i!NVRAM can be flash memory these days, but also SRAM backed up by a battery. And that is exactly what it is in the 3DO, and also in the Sega Saturn, the CD-i, etc.
So, just for confirmation, has anyone here on the forum ever had the 3DO's memory actually clunk out on them? Amazing that my 15+ year model is still purring like a kitten.
Oh I see what you're saying now. Really, we're just arguing semantics. I've always taken NVRAM to mean memory that doesn't lose data when it loses power. You're saying NVRAM is memory that doesn't lose data when the main device loses power.WindowsKiller wrote:Again, NVRAM is not a technology, it only means "RAM that keeps its data when the system no longer run on mains". How this is achieved is not important.
NVRAM can be flash memory these days, but also SRAM backed up by a battery. And that is exactly what it is in the 3DO, and also in the Sega Saturn, the CD-i, etc.
If the 3DO does, indeed, have SRAM with a battery, then the batteries they use must be extremely long-lived. I'm skeptical, but a quick test to remove the battery to see if they lose their saves, or anyone who has personal experience of needing to replace it would settle this pretty quickly.
Last edited by Mobius on Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The battery simply lasts very long. I've heard about a couple of 3DOs that could no longer keep save games.But the fact that I've never known a 3DO to lose its data due to a dead battery strongly implies that it does not use battery backed up SRAM and uses some other form of NVRAM.
Last edited by WindowsKiller on Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SRAM is a type of NVRAM "Non Volatile Random Access Memory" meaning that it can be written to over and over and retain it as long as it is getting power to the chip. Basically the Battery is used to maintain the saves, once the battery goes dead or the battery is removed for a long enough period the NVRAM will lose the "Saves" .
The battery is a lithium battery so it will last for a long time. there are batteries like this one in Nintendo NES cartridges that are still holding the saves and they are 20+ years old.
we should start seeing the consoles batteries going dead in the coming years. they were not made to be easily replaced without the right type of soldering iron i pulled one off in about a minute with the right type of soldering iron. i have a friend that his FZ1 Panasonic the battery went dead and we just replaced it that's why i was asking. before his system wouldn't retain the save games after the console was turned off but now it keeps them because we replaced the battery.
The battery is a lithium battery so it will last for a long time. there are batteries like this one in Nintendo NES cartridges that are still holding the saves and they are 20+ years old.
we should start seeing the consoles batteries going dead in the coming years. they were not made to be easily replaced without the right type of soldering iron i pulled one off in about a minute with the right type of soldering iron. i have a friend that his FZ1 Panasonic the battery went dead and we just replaced it that's why i was asking. before his system wouldn't retain the save games after the console was turned off but now it keeps them because we replaced the battery.
Well, then consider me proven wrong! I wish the Saturn's battery lasted just as long...tron2005 wrote:before his system wouldn't retain the save games after the console was turned off but now it keeps them because we replaced the battery.
Now I wonder what kind of memory is in the memory expansion.
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It could be there for when you play a game that needs you to change discs, so the SRAM idea could still be an idea... but the system is still on. It could simply be for brown-outs but I doubt that. Didn't someone win a repair manual and then failed to scan it as promised? Maybe we should ask them.
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You know how there is always one guy in the room who will always touch something that's marked do not touch.
and Oscar Wilde said sarcasm is the lowest form of wit...what did he know?
It controls the backing up of the battery(first one to say it "controls the backing up of the battery" gets a lifetime ban)
and Oscar Wilde said sarcasm is the lowest form of wit...what did he know?
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