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  • Laptop Battery Question

    My girlfriend's Compaq laptop battery has stopped charging all the way. It only goes up to 73% or if she takes it out and put it back in it will go up to 89%. The battery is only about year old (but the laptop was dropped on the ground where the battery is). I'm curious if she should get a new battery ?
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  • #2
    Re: Laptop Battery Question

    I've never had much luck with any laptop battery. They all seem to have lasted around a year until they were totally dead.

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    • #3
      Re: Laptop Battery Question

      I wonder. Can I get cash or store credit for returning a used battery?
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      • #4
        Re: Laptop Battery Question

        The same thing happened to my MacBook Pro battery. It wouldn’t fully charge, even though it was just over a year old. I’m pretty sure it was because I did not drain the battery and then re-charge it at least once a month; I treat it as a desktop and almost always keep it plugged in when running. Luckily, I had AppleCare. I took it in to the Apple Store and they gave me a new battery at no charge, even though I admitted that I was pretty much responsible for its demise.

        Then again, the MacBook battery does not have a good reputation. Like WebDude, it could be that this is the normal life of a battery these days. We’ll see in about a year. But this time, I’m planning to maintain it as recommended.

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        • #5
          Re: Laptop Battery Question

          I took my Powerbook to the Apple Store with a complaint about the battery no longer charging adequately. By this time I'd owned the computer for 2 1/2 years. The Mac genius checked the "cycle count" within the system profiler and told me that it showed the typical count for a battery in its condition. Here is how Apple.com explains a cycle count:
          A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could use your notebook for an hour or more one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.

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          • #6
            Re: Laptop Battery Question

            My laptop is a desktop replacement so I very rarely run it on battery power. But even though it is almost always running on AC power, the battery becomes dead within a year. Would the batter last longer if I kept it disconnected and only put it in when I needed to run on battery power?

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            • #7
              Re: Laptop Battery Question

              Originally posted by tutusue View Post
              I took my Powerbook to the Apple Store with a complaint about the battery no longer charging adequately. By this time I'd owned the computer for 2 1/2 years. The Mac genius checked the "cycle count" within the system profiler and told me that it showed the typical count for a battery in its condition. Here is how Apple.com explains a cycle count:
              My first iBook G4 battery was shot after a few years, so I got a second one for “just in case” situations. I continue to use my old battery whenever I have access to a 110-volt outlet.

              My two-year old "new" battery is used only when I can’t find a plug. According to "coconutbattery 2.6.3", this battery’s capacity has decreased from 4400 mAh to 3135 mAh on 10 battery-loadcycles. So, as little as I use it, I've still lost 29% of the "original" capacity of this battery. I get 3+ hours from each charge.

              FYI my Macintosh Users Group gurus tell me that when using my new battery, use it all the way down to 0% of charge, then charge it all the way back to 100%.

              I expect to keep to this routine until I get my new Apple laptop.
              Born in Hawaii, too - Truss me

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              • #8
                Re: Laptop Battery Question

                it's called the memory effect. Lithium batteries aren't supposed to be affected by this but it happens none the less.

                When you leave the laptop plugged in, it's constantly charging the battery literally cooking it.

                Eventually you "cook" out all the electrolytes that help store the energy within the battery's cells. When that happens whatever amount of electrolyte is left is basically the percentage of charge you can get out of that depleting battery. If you have 50% electrolyte left, you get 100% of your battery's potential for only 50% run time.

                This is a generalization but you get the picture. Lithium batteries operate somewhat differently and supposedly love to be topped off unlike nickel-metal hydride batteries, but I've seen the memory effect in Li-Ion batteries as well.

                If you think laptop batteries are expensive to replace when this happens, consider the 2009 Toyota Prius that uses a Nickle-Metal Hydride batteries that suffer the same way at $5,000 a pop to replace. The 2010 Prius uses the more expensive Li-Ion battery packs. This is why you see used 2003-04 Toyota Prius' on car lots. The batteries are about to deep six.

                FYI: Lithium batteries shouldn't be drained to zero because if you are using it under high current draw situations, the battery will overheat and explode. Lithium batteries love to be topped off and not drained completely. Ni-Cads and Nimhd batteries need to be drained fully prior to charging to prevent this memory effect from happening. However these batteries don't like to be charged or used when they get hot. If you're using a device powered by these batteries and they are getting hot (the batteries) turn off the device and let it cool before using it again. Same for charging. Never charge a hot battery. That goes for Li-Ion batteries as well. When you charge a battery it heats it up so the electrolyte can accept a charge. When you charge a hot battery, it's like cooking it and like a pressure cooker, it will explode.

                Also when storing Ni-cads or Nimhd batteries charge them up fully. Leaving a fully depleted ni-cad or nimhd battery on the shelve for an extended time will result in that battery not being able to take a charge in the future.
                Last edited by craigwatanabe; August 17, 2009, 12:41 PM.
                Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                • #9
                  Re: Laptop Battery Question

                  Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                  If you think laptop batteries are expensive to replace when this happens, consider the 2009 Toyota Prius that uses a Nickle-Metal Hydride batteries that suffer the same way at $5,000 a pop to replace. The 2010 Prius uses the more expensive Li-Ion battery packs. This is why you see used 2003-04 Toyota Prius' on car lots. The batteries are about to deep six.
                  If you have any links on actual Prius battery "deep sixes" (not just the rumors or media hype) I'd like to research the subject.
                  Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                  Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                  We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                  Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Laptop Battery Question

                    Originally posted by Nords View Post
                    If you have any links on actual Prius battery "deep sixes" (not just the rumors or media hype) I'd like to research the subject.
                    I'm just saying...but then I used to work for Toyota and had nice chats with the Service Manager there plus you don't need to do much research in finding out the weaknesses of nickle-metal hydride batteries. It's a given rechargeable batteries fail over a course of repeated charge cycles. We've all experienced it and Prius batteries are no exception.
                    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Laptop Battery Question

                      Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                      I'm just saying...but then I used to work for Toyota and had nice chats with the Service Manager there plus you don't need to do much research in finding out the weaknesses of nickle-metal hydride batteries. It's a given rechargeable batteries fail over a course of repeated charge cycles. We've all experienced it and Prius batteries are no exception.
                      As a Prius owner I've been digging for data on this for a couple years, including PriusChat.com and most of the DIY EV forums/boards.

                      So far I don't read about Prius battery failures any more frequently than I read about GM cars with blown engines. One or two wouldn't be unusual but anything beyond that seems to be anecdotal without data.
                      Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                      Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                      We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                      Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Laptop Battery Question

                        Its no mystery about rechargable batteries. Pries batteries won't last. Blown motors happen from neglect. There are only so many charge cycles in a battery and it will end no matter how good you are to your car`s maintenance schedules.
                        Even the service mgr said five to ten years tops on Prius batteries. This is why you see 2003-04 Prius` on used car lots. Better to unload before the battery dies. Hard to sell a car with a$5,000 repair bill.
                        Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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