Laptop Battery Problem?

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:38

Recently got a laptop and i dont think the battery is charging, when i got it i formatted it straight away. Is there a way to check if it is, is there any options that i need to turn on to make it charge. Anyway of checking if it is dead? This is my first laptop so excuse my 'newbie' questions.

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:40

Go to control panel and click on power options. Then click on the power metre tab and it will tell you what its doing.

img · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:43

take out the power and let battery die then plug in for few hours and take power out.

TheVoice · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:50

Check the BIOS/setup (should say something like "Press F2 to enter setup" when it starts, could be any key though), there's usually a battery status viewer there.

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:49

Joe42 said:
Go to control panel and click on power options. Then click on the power metre tab and it will tell you what its doing.

in There the battery is at 0% and when i click for more details it says status is online, discharging.

TheVoice said:
Check the BIOS/setup (should say something like "Press F2 to enter setup" when it starts, could be any key though), there's usually a battery status viewer there.

There isnt battery options in the bios except beep on low battery enable/disable

img said:
take out the power and let battery die then plug in for few hours and take power out.

should i have it switched off but the power plugged in?

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:57

Just look at the power remaining bar in power options. If that never goes up even with power plugged in then its not charging. First discharge the battery to 0% by unplugging the power, the plug the power back in and watch the bar and see if the battery power goes up from 0%.

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:05

i will try that in a second it does have a red X over it, it that normal?

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:07

I don't think so. Where is it, over the battery icon?

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:23

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:28

Never seen that before. I'll try taking my battery out and see if i get it.

Edit: Mine just says 'not present' next to the battery.
This is in control panel, power options, power metre and with the 'show details fore each battery' option ticked. Is your red cross over this battery icon?

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:29

when you take the battery out it will just say not present, which is what it says for battery #2 on mine because i dont have one.

benjo plz. · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:31

It isn't a Toshiba is it?

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:33

NaTe said:
when you take the battery out it will just say not present, which is what it says for battery #2 on mine because i dont have one.

So what does it say for #1?
Perhaps you could show us a screenshot. Is it just a red cross over the icon for #1?

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:37

no it is someone else.

this is what it looks like:

benjo plz. · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:44

It's either a dodgy motherboard or a dodgy battery. Send it back either way.

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:45

What do you get when you click on that battery?
Does it say its online?
Whats the date of manufacturer? Mine has its date of manufacturer under the unique id column.

Lithium ions only last 3 years, so if its 4 years old for example its most likely dead.

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:45

Phnom_Penh said:
It's either a dodgy motherboard or a dodgy battery. Send it back either way.

surely it isnt a dodgy motherboard otherwise it wouldnt work?

Nate · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:47

Joe42 said:
What do you get when you click on that battery?
Does it say its online?
Whats the date of manufacturer? Mine has its date of manufacturer under the unique id column.

Lithium ions only last 3 years, so if its 4 years old for example its most likely dead.

Power state : On Line, Discharging

i think you might have hit the nail on the head the laptop is around 3 years old i think. hmmm

benjo plz. · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:50

NaTe said:
surely it isnt a dodgy motherboard otherwise it wouldnt work?

Nah, before I've come across toshibas (why I asked above) where the motherboard had been damaged by the psu plug moving around (in the back of the laptop), meaning that the battery didn't charge. The batteries worked fine in other laptops, just not in the damaged ones.

Joe42 · 2 Aug 2006 at 14:55

NaTe said:
Power state : On Line, Discharging

i think you might have hit the nail on the head the laptop is around 3 years old i think. hmmm

Yup, the bad news is lithium ions die after 3-4 years regardless of usage. They will die if they sit on a shelf all that time.
The even worse news is new batteries for that laptop are probably difficult to get hold of because batteries manufacturered 3 years ago will be dead. Unless you can get a battery for it manufacturerd recently its had it i'm afraid.