Laptop Battery Issue

[ardypilot]

I'm getting the 'plugged in, not charging' message on my 2 year old Dell Inspiron laptop at the moment, and after scouring the net for about a week looking for solutions, I've come to the conclusion that flashing my BIOS is my last chance of fixing this. I've downloaded the BIOS .exe from the Dell website, but it's older than the version I currently have running- is this an issue? Will I loose any data when I run it? Any tips/hints much appreciated- cheers.

[Grumble]

QUOTE (Trolly @ Feb 14 2010, 02:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm getting the 'plugged in, not charging' message on my 2 year old Dell Inspiron laptop at the moment, and after scouring the net for about a week looking for solutions, I've come to the conclusion that flashing my BIOS is my last chance of fixing this. I've downloaded the BIOS .exe from the Dell website, but it's older than the version I currently have running- is this an issue? Will I loose any data when I run it? Any tips/hints much appreciated- cheers.

Could also be that the battery is gone. Laptop batteries don't last forever, and actually, 2 years seems about right...

[BigBird]

Nope, they don't last forever. My Hewlett Packard lappy is now around 3 years old. When plugged in charging, the battery indicator has a cross through it. When you pass the mouse over it, it says "You should consider replacing your battery". It's still charging to 100% but even on low power draw activities it's lasting maybe 40 minutes before needing recharging.

My IT expert flatmate says to extend your laptop's battery life, every few weeks let your laptop battery run itself down completely until your computer shuts itself down. Then charge fully... Wish he'd told me earlier . I'll be replacing my battery as soon as I win lotto.

[pilot.masman]

yeah my laptop battery (HP, 3 years too) has started to degrade (lasting less time on full charge) luckily ive just sold it so i get to miss out on the whole battery replacing process

[towerguy]

can try nzlaptops down in cortina place in pakuranga or there is another battery place around behind the "swimart" place past bunnings in east tamaki
cheers

[ardypilot]

QUOTE

can try nzlaptops down in cortina place in pakuranga or there is another battery place around behind the "swimart" place past bunnings in east tamaki
cheers[/quote]
Cheers Craig- my next question was to be where to purchase a new one, always good to have local knowledge. Looks like it will be just another expenditure I'll have to go through with even though im horribly skint living on a poor students budget at the mo

[BigBird]

Last time I looked there were hundreds of laptop batteries for sale on TradeMe. You can also get 12 cell batteries for most laptops that give you more use per charge... Those are more expensive of course.

[towerguy]

trolly
just replaced my daughters laptop battery
was for an acer aspire 1650 which is a couple of years old at least - cost $139 and had to be ordered in from overseas but was here in less than a week, most others they had in stock here
- from nzlaptops in cortina place, price was pretty comparable to what i"d seen online, service was excellent, and dealing with a live person face to face is a bonus if there are any problems
good luck
craig

if you need more info then pm me for a cell phone number
cheers

[creator2003]

Ive heard myth maybe ? to put your battery in a sealed bag and put in the freezer for a couple of hours ..

[brownbox]

QUOTE (creator2003 @ Feb 22 2010, 07:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ive heard myth maybe ? to put your battery in a sealed bag and put in the freezer for a couple of hours ..

I was just going to say this. Ive can vouch for this working on a cordless drill battery, but havnt had it work on a laptop battery yet. Just dont open the bag before it thaws or you end up with water in the battery=kaboom!

[dbcunnz]

QUOTE (creator2003 @ Feb 17 2010, 07:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ive heard myth maybe ? to put your battery in a sealed bag and put in the freezer for a couple of hours ..

laptop batteries
Heat is the enemy of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. When your laptop runs on AC, it's smart to remove the battery pack and store it in a cool place. Low temperatures forestall the inevitable and irreversible chemical changes that occur in Li-ion batteries.

In fact — and this will sound odd — if your laptop is mostly run off household AC power, you can greatly extend the life of its Li-ion battery this way: Run the battery down to about 40% of maximum charge, remove it, and store it in a tightly wrapped plastic bag inside your refrigerator! Storage at about 40 degrees F (4 to 5 degrees C) is ideal. Think of it as the 40-40 rule: 40% charge, 40 degrees F.

If you can, avoid running Li-ion batteries all the way down. Early portable electronics used nickel-cadmium batteries, which benefit from full discharge cycles. Conversely, Li-ion batteries last longer when kept in a charge state between 40% and 100%. It's OK to run Li-ion batteries flat when you have to, but the ideal scenario for longest life is one full discharge cycle for about every 30 or so partial cycles.

Sad to say, even if you're perfectly careful with your Li-ion batteries, they'll slowly go bad on their own due to their irreversible and inevitable chemical changes. This is one of the main reasons why cool storage helps preserve Li-ion battery life: the cool temperatures slow the chemical reactions.

Even a well-maintained Li-ion battery will usually show signs of age two or three years after manufacture. That's why it's not a great idea to buy a second or spare battery for your laptop unless and until you really need to use one. If you buy a spare you don't really need, it'll slowly go bad on its own, giving you no (or reduced) return on your investment.

If you do have a spare battery, store it in the fridge with about a 40% charge when it's not in use.

When you buy replacement batteries, check the date of manufacture. This will usually be stamped or printed on the battery case. Cut-rate, bargain batteries may have been sitting on a warehouse shelf for a couple years, meaning that a good chunk of their useful life has passed before you ever plug them in.

With careful use, you can get 300 to 500 charge cycles from a new, high-quality Li-ion battery — especially when the battery's stored in a cool location when it's not in use. You should get years of good service from such a battery. With just a little luck, by the time the battery no longer holds a useful charge, you'll be ready for a new laptop, anyway!

Here is a couple more sites about Lithium batteries. http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm and http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/helpdesk/?p=124

[BASys]

Hi Folks

QUOTE (Trolly @ Feb 15 2010, 02:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm getting the 'plugged in, not charging' message
on my 2 year old Dell Inspiron laptop at the moment,
and after scouring the net for about a week looking for solutions,
I've come to the conclusion that flashing my BIOS is my last chance of fixing this.
I've downloaded the BIOS .exe from the Dell website,
but it's older than the version I currently have running-
is this an issue? Will I loose any data when I run it?
Any tips/hints much appreciated- cheers.

Trolly -
Yes its a probable issue.

During the production life of a model series
that model may contain different motherboard variants
sourced from different manufacturers.

Unless downgrade-flashing your BIOS
is a Dell recommended solution for this problem,
AND
you personally had already upgraded from that BIOS version,
then
recomend you don't,
as you'll likely end up with a dead laptop.



Have you posted on the Dell support boards ?
Is it a known issue with your model ?



Batteries generally fit across several models.
Maybe try visiting your local PC store,
see if they have a suitable model to try your battery on.



I own an older Inspiron model, (March 2004),
have 2 battery packs,
and use battery power for ~ 5% of time.
Both still retain and deliver full charge.
They have a built-in series of led charge-level indicators.



HTH
ATB
Paul

[ardypilot]

Well after my battery indicator started constantly flashing orange a few days ago, I decided it was definitely time to get a replacement and ordered a new one.

However when I plugged it in, it only shows as being 7% full and not charging, and when I unplug my laptop from the wall, the light indicator also flashes orange again (low battery status). Any ideas?

[dnkiwi]

i have had a very similar problem to the one you have and found that the wall charger was not charging my laptop but after replacing it the laptop worked fine so it might be worth a shot