If you're getting errors when you boot your PC, the problem may be nothing more than a dead CMOS battery. Fortunately, they're cheap and easy to replace--on desktops, anyway.

I had a co-worker tell me that he had an old computer that the "trickle charger" died on him, thus causing his CMOS to die and screw up his BIOS. I have never heard of anything like a "trickle ...