anybody know Siemens controller?

I've been offered a Siemens cnc controller with servos that was used to
control a hardinge about 12 years ago. The guy who has the thing says he
waited too long to change the backup battery or something and the unit lost
its programming, for which he has no backup rendering it unusable. I'm just
getting into this stuff, and wondering if I can make it work again. If
anyone has any familiarity with what might be wrong with this thing, please
voice your opinion, as I'm wondering if it would be worth the time and $100
or so to go get it...

Tom