Tech Poor Battery Life

kattykay

kattykay

sofa king sexy!
Jun 8, 2008
4,459
0
#1
The battery on my laptop is barely holding a charge and Im not sure if it needs to be replaced or not. The HP Total Care Advisor says my battery is good but it was charged yesterday to 100% then I unplugged and turned it off. I turned it on at 6 tonight for the first time and it died within 15 minutes.

My other concern is the charger I bought for it. The one I got when I bought it broke so I just bought a cheap one off of ebay. Ever since I got it my laptop feels hot and the stupid piece of crap charger is charges on and off now. So should I buy a new battery, a new charger, or just throw this out the window and buy a new one :nuts:
 
#2
Sometimes when you put your laptop on standby, it still drains the battery life. Did you shut it down or did you put it on standby? Lithium ion batteries need to be "taught" on how high their capacity is. Usually when you get a new phone or laptop, it is recommended that you drain the battery at least three times before you charge it back up to full capacity.

Other factors also play a role in draining your battery such as the brightness of the screen, streaming videos/music, and surfing on the internet (because you are using your wireless). Older laptops also get hotter easier because of the dust that accumulates inside. I would recommend giving it an "air bath" with the compressed air in a can every once in a while. If you say your charger goes on and off, perhaps when you plug your laptop in it doesn't even charge all the way every time you go to charge it. That's an easy fix though.

HTH!
 
#3
xlana said:
Sometimes when you put your laptop on standby, it still drains the battery life. Did you shut it down or did you put it on standby? Lithium ion batteries need to be "taught" on how high their capacity is. Usually when you get a new phone or laptop, it is recommended that you drain the battery at least three times before you charge it back up to full capacity.
HTH!
Click to expand...

Just an FYI, Li-ion batteries don't need to be "conditioned" like the old Ni-Cad batteries did. However, a monthly "reset" should be done....which might be the OPs problem. Go ahead and let your laptop die, then turn it back on and let it die again. Do that 2 or 3 more times. Then charge it completely and see what happens.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2005-08-07-battery-life_x.htm
 
#4
Thanks, the laptop is a year and a half old so I will go buy a new can of compressed air in a little bit, it could probably use the cleaning anyway. I actually got an email this morning saying my battery was recalled due to overheating and burning people/things. Maybe that will fix the problem?
 
#5
^^
Lol, if it's defective hardware, it just wasn't your fault and nothing you did would have helped! The problem was the battery being defective all along! Well, I guess that answers it.
 
#7
So I know you determined it was defective, but I thought I would add my comments regarding battery lifetimes.

Charles said:
Just an FYI, Li-ion batteries don't need to be "conditioned" like the old Ni-Cad batteries did. However, a monthly "reset" should be done....which might be the OPs problem. Go ahead and let your laptop die, then turn it back on and let it die again. Do that 2 or 3 more times. Then charge it completely and see what happens.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2005-08-07-battery-life_x.htm
Click to expand...

What Charles suggests works probably 99% of the time.

I have a somewhat less than conventional method of bringing batteries back from the dead. It should only be done if you're absolutely ready to replace the battery, because sometimes it results in a nonfunctioning battery. OK I'm going to just come out with it and you can all laugh at me if you want. If what Charles is suggesting doesn't work, and you're about to buy a new battery anyways, try sticking the battery in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a day. Take it out, let it come back to room temperature, and then try it out. I have absolutely brought batteries back from the dead by doing this, but it is only to be used as a last ditch effort.
 
#8
purly said:
OK I'm going to just come out with it and you can all laugh at me if you want. If what Charles is suggesting doesn't work, and you're about to buy a new battery anyways, try sticking the battery in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a day. Take it out, let it come back to room temperature, and then try it out. I have absolutely brought batteries back from the dead by doing this, but it is only to be used as a last ditch effort.
Click to expand...

LOL, my husband does this with dying hard drives....
 
#10
Also, just as a point of interest, laptop batteries can start to die on their own after a while, some faster than others, with an ever-shortening charge time until they refuse to hold more than a few minutes charge at all. It just happens :shrugs:
 
#12
kattykay said:
The battery on my laptop is barely holding a charge and Im not sure if it needs to be replaced or not. The HP Total Care Advisor says my battery is good but it was charged yesterday to 100% then I unplugged and turned it off. I turned it on at 6 tonight for the first time and it died within 15 minutes.

My other concern is the charger I bought for it. The one I got when I bought it broke so I just bought a cheap one off of ebay. Ever since I got it my laptop feels hot and the stupid piece of crap charger is charges on and off now. So should I buy a new battery, a new charger, or just throw this out the window and buy a new one :nuts:
Click to expand...

Without my laptops power cord, my battery can only last a few hours :sad:.
 
#13
So I just now got around to doing the recall on my battery. Turns out mine wasnt effeced by this. The recall was about batteries overheating and burning people or causing fires. Mine has gotten so hot before I am afraid to touch it sometimes. I emailed HP ad they just told me to clean out the fans, I am going to push for a new battery though.
 
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