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I purchased a used (old) Pavilion dv6 laptop that was running Windows 10. The seller set it to revert to factory settings to remove all of his data and programs, which also changed Windows back to Win 7. I have reinstalled Win 10 from a thumb drive. Did the factory reset also change the CMOS/BIOS settings back to default settings too (if changes have ever been made)?

I noticed the windows system time is randomly changing on me, and I wondered if it's possible the CMOS battery is weak, and may be the problem. If I replace the CMOS battery (with all power off), do you think I will have any problems with Windows booting back up when I power the laptop back on with the new battery in place? I see changing the battery is very easy, and I have a new CR2032 battery in my desk. I just don't want to replace it, and mess anything up, not able to boot.

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  • It may depend upon the computer and the manufacturer’s recovery process. On my Lenovo machines, new BIOS is not replaced with old BIOS. Typically (not always) you cannot manually downgrade BIOS.
    – John
    Jan 14, 2021 at 1:00
  • On any HP, resetting to factory setting will not change the bios settings.
    – Moab
    Jan 14, 2021 at 17:15

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I purchased a used (old) Pavilion dv6 laptop that was running Windows 10. The seller set it to revert to factory settings to remove all of his data and programs, which also changed Windows back to Win 7.

You should have performed a Fresh Install this would have accomplished your original goal. Instead you used the original image offered by the OEM.

I have reinstalled Win 10 from a thumb drive. Did the factory reset also change the CMOS/BIOS settings back to default settings too (if changes have ever been made)?

Performing a Windows Reset (Windows 10) doesn’t change a device’s firmware settings. However, you used the factory reset image provided by the OEM, but that still didn’t reset your firmware settings.

I noticed the windows system time is randomly changing on me, and I wondered if it's possible the CMOS battery is weak, and may be the problem.

It’s possible but the device shouldn’t be having time drift if the machine is turned on and connected to the internet.

If I replace the CMOS battery (with all power off), do you think I will have any problems with Windows booting back up when I power the laptop back on with the new battery in place? I see changing the battery is very easy, and I have a new CR2032 battery in my desk. I just don't want to replace it, and mess anything up, not able to boot.

Just notate the current settings most of the firmware options won’t effect your ability to boot into Windows.

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  • I went into the BIOS settings, and noticed the date/and time was not correct there. It was several hours off of what it should have been, and 1 day off too. I reset the date/time in the BIOS, and saved the settings when I exited. It's been OK all day today since, so I will keep an eye on it, and if it loses time in the BIOS, I will just go ahead and replace the CMOS battery after all. Thanks!
    – John
    Jan 14, 2021 at 22:55

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