My computer is loosing the date and the processor rating.

It is stating the date is 2001, and the XP1800 processor 1.5Ghz is 1134Mhz

I'm advised it may just be the battery on the motherboard.

If I change it will it loose the BIOS settings?

If I change it will it loose the BIOS settings?

Yes, but it sounds like they are hosed anyway. But it is not like all settings go to zero - they just go back to out-of-the-box defaults, as if you just pulled the motherboard out of the box. So after you replace the battery, go straight into the BIOS setup menu and set the date and time, and check to ensure your drives are properly recognized, then Save and Exit, reboot and see how things are.

It should not make much difference at all (as Digerati said it will just reset your settings to the factory default)

If your time keeps resetting due to the battery, I would think that all the bios settings will reset as well

Thanks Guys

If your time keeps resetting due to the battery, I would think that all the bios settings will reset as well

Usually the case. But I have seen where a PC loses time and date, but still remember drive specs. I suspect this is with a weak battery, as opposed to a dead battery, and that is because simply reading and keeping the drive specs is less demanding on the battery than keeping a clock running and set properly or many hours or days. Just a guess, but it sounds good.

yeah, that sounds about right