Olympus C-755 Ultra Zoom Camera: How to Prevent Reversion to Default Settings

  I have an Olympus Camedia Digital Camera Model C-755 Ultra Zoom.  It's 3 years old and has only 4 mega pixel image capability, but it has served me well for taking photos of family and photos of objects sold on eBay.  Not too long after I purchased it, it reverted to default photo settings every time I changed its 4 AA cell batteries.   This was quite a nuisance.   I may have caused the problem by my incorrect removal of the USB connection to my computer  (i.e. I should have shut down the camera before removal of the USB plug).  Searching the Internet for a possible solution yielded only the complicated resolution of taking the camera completely apart to replace an internal battery and/or capacitor which holds the user-set settings while changing batteries.

I came up with another solution based on the fact that when a 6V AC to DC charger is plugged into the camera, the new connection disables the battery connection.  The following approach may also be useful for other cameras having the same problem.

1) I purchased a 6V (actually 6.2-6.4V when measured) Rayovac lithium battery (2CR5). The battery is only 2 inches tall by 1-1/4 inch wide by about 5/8 inch thick.
2) I cut 4 inches of cord and male plug off the end of an unused Olympus AC charger from a previous Olympus 1 mega pixel camera.  The plug fit exactly into my Olympus C-755.  Radio Shack would also carry the correct male plug.
3)  I stripped the ends of the 4 inch cord (with the plug on the other end),  and carefully soldered (so as not to damage the battery) the stripped ends respectively to the  (+) and (-) terminals of the battery.  I needed to make sure the polarity to the plug was correct.  I used a volt/ohm meter to determine that the (+) terminal of the battery needed to be soldered to the wire connected to the inside of the male plug, and hence the (-) terminal of the battery needed to be soldered to the wire connected to the outside of the male plug.   I finished the job by wrapping the terminals and battery with black electrician's tape so than only about 1-1/2 inches of wire and plug stuck out the end of the battery. 
4) Now, when I need to change batteries in the camera, I first plug in my battery adapter to where the male plug of the AC charger would normally go.  I then change batteries,  close the battery compartment and remove the battery adapter.   Presto!  My settings have been preserved!
5) The battery adapter is also useful for those times when camera battery power is so low that the camera will not even shut off.  In these instances, the battery adapter can be plugged into the camera to resolve these issues.

[Note: As I re-read this post some time later (4.14.21), How technology has changed! The Post is obsolete but does give some insight into my technical prowess The fact remains that digital cameras are still fraught with various electronic and mechanical problems!  Especially those with zoom lenses.]

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