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Thanks again.  The question is not whether the battery is rechargeable, but instead whether it is drained less quickly because the powered-on computer takes over supplying power to the motherboard, relieving the CMOS battery.  We see these stories about people whose computers have run for ten years or more and they never replaced a CMOS battery.  That would make sense if those computers were powered-on much of the time.  Conversely, if the machine sits in storage, then the battery assumes the whole burden of keeping the BIOS intact.  At least that’s the hypothesis.  Confirm?  Deny?

As for the suggestion that the computer takes over supplying power to the motherboard even if it is merely plugged into an outlet (and not turned on), that is something I saw online.

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HiFlyer

Thanks for your reply, PKCano.  Can you address the “separate question” I posed above?

Doing so would clarify whether the battery life will be longer if the computer is (1) plugged in or (2) plugged in and powered on.

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HiFlyer

Everything I see online indicates that the most commonly used battery, the CR2032, is NOT rechargeable.

The question has been raised above.  Can we resolve it?

Separate question: Do desktop computers typically relieve the CMOS battery of duty when (1) the computer is plugged in, whether powered-on or not, or (2) when powered-on?

If you are trying to keep a couple of stored Win7 machines ready for use, these questions matter.