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I can't move to the Fediverse properly until I reproduce my famous pinned post from the birdsite, so here it is:

P.S.A. To all vintage computer and video game collectors:

Go through your collections and GET THE DAMN BATTERIES OUT!

Now! Don't wait! Seriously, put down the phone, go to your collection and take out all the batteries. Right now! Even if they look "okay" they are NOT SAFE after this much time.
A PCB board with blue copper corrosion on a copper trace that is normally protected by solder mask. The battery leakage got underneath the solder mask and destroyed the traces.
A computer motherboard with a leaking VARTA battery attached. Corrosion is visible on the legs of nearby components.
An arcade game PC board with visible corrosion from the still in-place leaking battery
A flexible ribbon cable with visibly damaged copper conductors due to a leaking laptop battery.
Mighty One Sam
Defeat Varta, destroyer of boards
niconiconi
The *real* horror is a system board with a battery-backed NVRAM loaded with irreplaceable firmware or factory calibration data. If you don't know how to extract it from software, accepting the time bomb is the only "safe" option... :oh_no:
Ian Molton
@niconiconi @48kRAM

Carefully grind the package off these. You can then solder a new battery on to it on flying leads.
@48kRAM @niconiconi
smellsofbikes velocipede
I just did this with my Amiga, last year.
Byte
is this something to worry about for a PCjr? I havenā€™t had the time or space to open that one up to take a look inside, but itā€™s been in office use mostly so itā€™s probably in decent condition internally
48kRAM
I don't think the PCjr had a battery in the main unit. The keyboard, however, used AAs and those can leak badly and destroy the keyboard.
adorfer
VARTA, the nemesis of retro computing...
Chris Allen
after reading this Iā€™m glad I donā€™t have any hardware like this at the back of my loft šŸ˜
woshua
This reminded me of the time I found a "AA" battery soldered in place in an arcade cabinet
48kRAM
Yikes!

But, then, I've found some terrible stuff in arcade cabinets:

* isolation transformers connected with alligator jumpers
* replacement marquee lights with ground strap wired to neutral
* A GUN!
* tokens shorting every possible thing on the PCB

Never trust an arcade cabinet
hacknorris
what about 10 year old phone from lg? still using...
48kRAM
Lithium ion batteries can and do leak and swell. I separate all my LiIon batteries from devices I have packed away
DrĆ­fa JĆ³nsdĆ³ttir :kitty_trans:
I have an SE/30. It does *not* have a battery in it anymore.

Why they moved it from the back case (where damage would be noticed and contained) to the mainboard (which can only be reached with specialist tools) is beyond me.
Keen
I was given a Mac LC that unfortunately sat in a garage with a leaky battery eating the motherboard. Burned a large hole through it and chewed up a bunch of shielding.
Jamie Lendino
Okay, now I feel like Mastodon is real.
Topaz, Gem Coyote
We've been wanting old stuff like that, but don't have anything yet...

bet the Wii's new enough to be safe. I think the only battery it has is a CMOS battery in a little compartment.

What's dangerous about old tech's batteries? Something about the batteries themselves, or?
48kRAM
It's just the nature of batteries, sadly. They're made of angry chemicals and eventually the anger explodes all over the place.
Š”тŠ°Š»ŠŗŠµŃ€ Commander1024
also applies to some types of capacitors. They can be also very harmful when they start to leak.
ClaudioM
Yup. Learned this the hard way with my IIGS as I had no clue about those deadly barrel batteries. I posted a pic of what happened on my main account @claudiom@bsd.network) but it's down for upgrades currently. I hope, *hope*, it's salvageable. šŸ™šŸ»
@ClaudioM
48kRAM
šŸ¤žā€‹
hazelnot :ad:
How vintage are we talking here? The oldest computer I have is a Dreamcast, I think
48kRAM
Dreamcast has a rechargeable coin cell battery that you're going to want to replace sooner or later. It's in a location that's not likely to damage the main PCB, but could damage the controller ports. It's actually safe to run the DC without this battery at all -- I've removed it from my console and I just set the time on the occasions that I drag it out to play.
LāŒ "SpƤtzleGrabā„¢",8,1
Japp. Killed my Amiga 2000 šŸ˜­ā€‹
48kRAM
šŸ˜­ā€‹
Animatronic Pumpkin
Done! 23-year-old batter is disconnected.
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