Following up from previous post:
http://computing.net/windows95/wwwboard/forum/96604.html
Very long winded.....

When the pc is turned on via power button it freezes at the bios splash. No hd/floppy activity. HD is spinning but no light. Cant boot from floppy cant enter setup. At one point during the on and off attempts a black screen appeared. I copied down this info:

System configuration data updated.
error 0251: system cmos checksum bad.
Default configuration used.

i searched the error at google.com and found a hit to an Hp mesage board. Looked related but not the same system/situation or error. This hit and the fact it freezes at bios splash made me check out his model at HP for a bios update or recommendations for upgrading to XP. The Xp info sheet mentioned upgrading the bios and there was a bios (Mercury/Tortuga--current bios is pheonix) upgrade available. I downloaded it but didnt install it because the upgrade bios was named different. And the fact that i could get it to work for now made me hold off.

I searched for the new bios splash updates name and found another hp message forum thread that seemed kind of related. 3 posts asking why with no helpful responses

One of the posts....
am also having the same problem with my HP XL756! I have a HP XL756 P-III 667Mhz that keeps locking up (I am running WIN98SE) . I tried to use the latest BIOS upgrade (HP Pavilion Mercury/Tortuga BIOS Update 06/19/01 ver 2.10 ) but I keep getting a Phoenix Phlash error that says “File does not contain the same BIOS part number, Press any key to reboot”.
This guys post is about a different pc model and operating system but his bios error seems along the same lines...

Any ideas here before i try to update the bios? is it possible that a bios update would be named differently?

Thanks for any response or other ideas that come to mind..
The next step is backing up data/attempting to flash the bios and possibly replacing the pc or reverting to 2k or nt.

In my readings of BIOS info at various sites, I have noticed in several cases by reading the *.txt that you need to rename the file before flashing the BIOS. I do not know if you have read or even have any text files associated with your BIOS, but I felt this info may give you something additional to look at before deciding.

Thanks for the info kevin.

I have A HP Pavilion 6736, and SiSoftware Sandra says to look for a BIOS update; she says a SMBIOS/DMI 2.3 or later compliant BIOS is recommended, and the SMBIOS/DMI info may be inacurate. Like the other writer, I have a Phoenix BIOS, and the HP Mercury/Tortuga BIOS update just resulted in the same error message, File does not contain...". Did you find a good Phoenix BIOS update? Thanks for any assistance you can render.

I have an hp and i get the same crap, what i did to fix mine was replaced my battery. it is on the motherboard inside the computer looks like a nickel if your battery is week that error 0251 is just saying that ur previous configuration is being lost. probably due to weak battery.