I'll respond briefly to be clear, to some suggestions. Keep in mind there are HUNDREDS of computers in play, which may be unfamiliar, and the person at work will NEVER see that computer again. And there's no magic "database" to put fancy data into with a swipe of your smart-phone. I used to punch-cards, so I'm kinda primitive about this stuff, sorry.
William Dudley: A couple of suggestions:
Take a photo of the battery in situ before you remove the battery. Jason Howe adds, "a Fuji Instax camera" No. Too much work, too many steps, where do you keep the JPEG photos? instant photo camera - how do you keep it stocked with film? Where do you get the lighting for a clear photo? Kerr-rrist! All this busy work!
My suggestion was to leave a note inside the computer. *Sketch* where the battery was, sketch the battery. Done, and done.
Extra credit: put the battery you removed in a zip log baggie and attach it to the computer [or elsewhere]
No, Jason Perkins said why. The battery will leak AND the bag will break. Make a sketch! You could photograph it, to LATER identify it, and TRY to update the note. That's not likely to happen, but photos may be useful later - if the photo is found later.
David Gesswein: There are other materials that also will cause damage during decay. Certain foams will do that.
True enough. Can't fix everything. (shrug) plastic bumpers melt, that acoustic foam crumbles or gets gooey. Don't get me started on conductive foam. May be a good idea to build up a checklist of such stuff. But don't go nuts - a list with lotsa items and specific instructions will get ignored. battery damage is just awful, pulling a removable battery solves the damage problem - done and done.
william degnan
Here's a good thread about rebuilding the NeXT after replacing a dead battery [link]. [also] how to back up the configuration to diskette or the network or something ..
It may be useful, to determine which computers have *serious* data maintained by backup batteries. But damage from leaking batteries, in my unhumble opinion, trumps "I can't save the configuration". Save the computer so you can update the lost data another day. Bottom line: make this remove-the-battery too complicated, and it won't happen. It's a judgement call: how many destroyed computers do you want, versus the cost of some lost data or "where does that battery go? what battery does it need?" questions. I should send some photos of really destroyed Macs to make the case graphic, but it's the holiday season and it would put us out of the festive mood. ;) I *think* a good rule of thumb would be: if you can pull out the battery, do so; leave a note about it, more detail is better. Past that, is repair and triage - but problem #2 would be to remove that black-foam stuff! Good call, that. Herb "the Leaker" Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net