In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 16 Aug 2015 12:16:17 -0400, J Burns
wrote:

On 8/16/15 11:36 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 16 Aug 2015 00:34:46 -0400, J Burns
wrote:


The Mac II had a lithium backup battery.
If it failed 10 or 20 years down the road, I suppose you'd have to set
the date and time each time you booted.

That would have been fine but in fact it would not start at all when the
battery was dead.

The only Mac I know that needed a PRAM battery to start wasn't made by
Apple. It was the Tanzania-based StarMax, a Motorola clone. It's also
the only Mac I know whose battery would die before the owner. It was a
4.5 V alkaline in a plastic case with a velcro strip and a connector on
leads several inches long.

This was a mac 2, and after someone at the PC club told me to replace
the battery, I did (wtih a battery holder and a couple AAA batteries
iirc) , and it started up after that.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0

The OP said his Mac II worked with a dead battery. One respondent said

There may well have been more than one rendition of the Mac II.

I'm 99% sure it was a Mac ii. It had two 5 1/4" drives although I don't
know if that was the basis of its name.

there were some Macs (like my clone) that wouldn't work with a dead
battery.

According to them, one needed only to pop in a lithium camera battery.

This battery could not be popped out nor a replacement popped in.

For sure it was soldered in, and I also don't think it was a lithium
battery but that I'm not sure of.

That would keep it above an ambiguous voltage for a very long life. Long
life is why in 30 years I've had almost no experience with dead Mac
batteries. Let one sit for years, start it up, and the clock is a
little off.

Well I'm glad they improved their design. My story goes back almost
20 years, so the machine was only about 10 years old or less.