Sony's PSN will, inevitably, one day shut down on these consoles, and the closure of their respective PlayStation stores is the first step toward that future. This isn't just for digital games, either - physical games require this check as well. Similarly, if PSN is down, the system can boot most games if the stored CMOS data matches that from the last time the console checked PSN. If the CMOS is dead, the system can still play games provided it can connect to the PSN. It checks the saved date and time information against the information from PSN before booting any game. The CMOS on those devices stores the date and time, but it does so as a form of DRM. It's the same fundamental issue for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, but a little more severe. RELATED: How PS Plus Helped Gamers Get Through Lockdown You could restore the functionality by opening the Game Pak and replacing the battery, but that saved data was lost. However, over time, those batteries began to die, resulting in lost save data.

Those cartridges used a then-revolutionary save system that used a battery-powered form of RAM to preserve your data. This first became a known issue when NES-era The Legend of Zelda cartridges were blowing up on the secondhand market. You may have to redo some settings or connect to the Internet to reset your date and time, but it's not an issue for most devices.ĬMOS Drain has been devastating for gamers, though. For your computer, this isn't a problem - you (or a repair technician) replace the inexpensive battery. Batteries drain, and over time the CMOS battery will die. This way, even if the board is completely removed from power, the system will still remember your configuration options.ĬMOS Drain sounds terrifying, but it's honestly just the CMOS working as intended. They're used to provide an independent power source to store settings for the board, such as the date, time and basic configuration information. They're pretty commonplace every computer you've ever had uses one. The CMOS, or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, is the circuit type used to seat a battery to a motherboard. Let's start with explaining the essential components of the issue here.

Ps3 controller replacement battery