Is my off-brand laptop battery toast?

April 7, 2008 4:39 PM

My new off-brand laptop battery (Dell Latitude X1) suddenly stopped working after about three weeks of use. The BIOS says "The system could not communicate with this battery," and Windows says "No battery detected." Is there anything I can do besides shell out for an OEM battery? Is there any way to reset the internal electronics in the battery itself?

This is my second replacement battery to do this after about three weeks, after running on the original Dell batteries for three years. The place I bought the new battery from wouldn't give me a refund, only a replacement.

posted by stopgap to computers & internet (2 comments total)

I feel your pain.
posted by flabdablet at 5:03 PM on April 7, 2008

You might try looking in the laptops BIOS to see if there is a "battery exercising" option. However, since it sounds like your battery worked fine for 3 weeks, then disappeared, its probably the circuitry inside the battery.

"This is my second replacement battery to do this after about three weeks, after running on the original Dell batteries for three years."

You get what you pay for ?
posted by jmnugent at 6:13 PM on April 7, 2008