Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with laptop and battery

BitLocker and the battery NomNoms

@homer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:55:36 -0800

How much will BitLocker eat my battery? I've been using BitLocker on my laptop since Vista came out and continue to use it with the Windows 7 RC. In my experience the drive performance with and without BitLocker is about the same. What I don't know is if power usage is the same. I've read everything I can find about BitLocker and anything related to resource usage talks about disk reads and writes and system speed impact and how little impact there is. I can guess that since there is encryption and decryption that my battery life between charges is shortened. What I'd like to know is by how much. Are there any hard numbers from Microsoft or is there any way for me to calculate the extra load and figure out power usage from that?

MBP with unrecognized battery

kalapierson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:43:18 -0800

Aging MacBook Pro not recognizing its battery. Not under warranty. Is resetting the PMU my next step? It's a 3-year-old MBP (mfd summer 2006).

Battery icon in Apple Menu is a battery with an "X" inside it. This icon's dropdown menu reports "No batteries available." Disconnecting AC causes instant hard shutdown (so this isn't just battery being wrongly reported as inaccessible).

Some threads I've found suggest resetting the PMU, but Apple's instructions stress several times that this is a last resort. Why? Can the reset process go wrong globally enough to make the MBP unusable? Data loss isn't a concern, but I definitely can't be without my only computer. I also definitely can't afford a new battery.

Should I try the PMU reset or try something else?

----- Some questions you might want answers to, based on my googling so far:

• I'm fully current with system updates and I'm running 10.4.11.

• I've restarted (normally) many times with no change in the battery problem, which has lasted weeks now. I can't pinpoint when it started (or think of a specific reason it would've started). Battery is slightly bulged out (no longer flush with the back of the MBP) and I also don't know when that started to be the case.

• I can't report how many charge cycles the battery has gone through (because all System Profiler says about the battery is "batteries installed: 0"). But this machine has had a pretty desktop-bound life. Prior to this, the battery wasn't holding much of a charge but it certainly held enough that I could sleep the machine, then unplug it, then keep it asleep for a few hours, and then wake it up successfully next time it was plugged into AC (which is all I really care about being able to do).

• My MBP does fall within the date range of the MBP battery replacement program, but that program seems to have ended (?).

WAH!

Neonshock — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:38:31 -0800

My HP Pavillion dv6000 laptop works fine...except for one little battery related thing. You know the battery icon on the screen? On the bottom left - yeah that one.... It always shows at being 5% remaining, plugged in and charging (which it is, and has been for about...the last two months) but I never the less, ever gains any battery power. Sometimes when I startup its at full, but then when everything starts up properly it falls immediately down to 5 percent again. Its annoying because now im scared to remove it from the power....

My google has failed me. Any ideas Mefis?

My computer is having some difficulties.

Brachiosaurus — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:16:26 -0800

Is my iBook G4 dying? The most pressing problem is that, while working on it, without the power cord, the computer will abruptly turn off, with no warning. It can even be when the battery indicator on the top of the screen isn't even that low, maybe a quarter left. Afterwards I can just plug it in and turn it back on with no problems. This is happening more and more regularly.

The next biggest problem is that the front (closest to me) left corner gets super hot sometimes. I'm guessing that this is hard drive. I've backed up my data recently but I should probably again- maybe right after I'm done typing this.

Also, the wires within the power adapter may be starting to fray. It isn't too touchy but to keep the indicator light illuminated I have to keep it still. Also the box thingy that goes to the wall will get really, really hot while it's charging- but not if it's just plugged in. I don't know if it's always done this.

The only other problem is that four keys no longer work on the keyboard thanks to my cat spilling a martini on the computer about 2 years ago. I should have replaced it then because I can do it myself and I've heard that the replacement keyboard would only be about 50$. All of the letters still work (though I imagine that it would be funny if I had to avoid words with certain letters) and only one of the keys that I tend to use has been effected. I called Apple to ask them once but they said they don't sell just the keyboard.

So I'm looking at about 300 in replacement parts (outside of the hot hard drive problem, 'cause I don't know what that's about) and I'm thinking that even if I repair these and the thing lasts 8 months my utility per dollar wouldn't improve that much because I'm spending 20% of the cost to get another ~15% of life from it.

I choose 8 months because it would be awesome if I could get this thing to last until I finish school in Dec.

So it sounds like I should just replace it but I don't think I'd be able to swing that for another 2 or so months and I kind of need it (what I mean by need is that my roommate lets me use his spiffy iMac but having a laptop [and my own computer] improves my productivity).

So I guess my questions are, can this thing last 2-3 months without putting money into it? 8+ months without repairs? 8+ month with the repairs listed above? And how much would a new 100gb HD cost? Has anyone had this battery problem before? I know that none of you can predict the future but I just need some reasonable advice.

Help me understand Li-ion laptop batteries.

iamisaid — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:13:38 -0800

I'm about to purchase an aftermarket Li-ion laptop battery on eBay. However, I'm quite confused about the differences in specs for mAh and number of battery cells. Which is more important and how are they related? This is for a Lenovo 3000 V100 laptop, which from what I gather has a notoriously bad factory battery. At the moment the factory battery won't hold any charge whatsoever.

On eBay, there's a couple of pages worth of third-party replacement batteries. However, I'm really confused by the differences between them.

There are batteries listed that are both 6-cell and 8-cell, as well as some that don't mention the number of cells. On the Lenovo site, they sell a 6-cell and a 3-cell. To my way of thinking, the more cells, the longer the battery life. And that's always the case, right?

However, the mAh rating is what really throws me off. Some of the 6-cell batteries are listed as 4400 mAh, while other 6-cells are 4600 mAh. But the 8-cell batteries also show 4600 mAh.

So is the mAh rating as important as the number of cells? How exactly are the two specs related?

I've googled this a bit, but can't find an adequate explanation.

Battery For Aging Laptop: OEM or 3rd Party?

jimmyjimjim — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:01:57 -0800

Battery For Aging Laptop: OEM or 3rd Party? I need a new battery for my four year old Mac powerbook (old one discharges within 60 mins). Like the original, it lost its endurance after 2 years and currently discharges after 60 mins of use. There are few OEM batteries still around for this thing (though I did find one on eBay). But it occurs to me that while no Apple battery could possibly be fresh at this point, the 3rd party replacement ones MIGHT be more recently made. Though I'd usually hesitate to go with a 3rd party manufacturer on something like this. Any advice? FWIW, it's a Powerbook G4 15", and battery is A1045/A1078/A1148

How do I find out which battery is compatible with my laptop? (Toshiba Satellite L300-1A8)

bostonhill — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:03:14 -0800

How do I find out which battery is compatible with my laptop? (Toshiba Satellite L300-1A8) Hey all,

I got a laptop sent to me from Europe as a gift, unfortunately the battery lasts on 2 hours and 30 minutes. I am hoping to replace it with something that lasts longer.

I saw http://www.laptopbattery.net/toshiba/ but I am unable to locate L300 series on their drop-menu.

Thanks!

Someday computers will run on rainbows

oflinkey — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:14:09 -0800

Are there ever any other reputable vendors for laptop batteries other than the laptop manufacturer? I need to get my dad a new battery for his Inspiron 6000 but the 150$ price tag just kills me. If I have to pay it, I will, but I just wonder if there are other options. I do not want a refurb.

Any other advice on a long-lasting battery for that model of Inspiron is much appreciated. Dad is not a power user, but he likes to wander around and read the paper online. The computer itself is a couple of years old but that is fine because he does next to nothing with it, other than read the paper online and check email.

Great big doorstop. FAIL.

CwgrlUp — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:58:51 -0800

Backing up an HP laptop for the ignorant. Halp? My wife's laptop recently bit the big one and to replace it we bought an HP dv6700. We didn't even think about it until days after purchase that it was strange that the power jack is located on the right side of the laptop rather than the back like the old one. In our current setup, the power outlet is to the left of the laptop, so the power cable has to come around the cpu and make a sharp turn to plug in.

Needless to say, in less than 3 months this has ruined the jack. Now just sitting still it cycles back and forth from charging to battery power at random. You can wiggle the plug slightly and see the charging light flash on and off. I got on the HP website yesterday and chatted with a 'specialist' (eye-roll) and she told me they would fix the jack under warranty. But of course I have to mail it to them and we'll be without cpu for a good solid week. Do I have much other recourse when this is such an OBVIOUS design flaw? Despite the 'specialist's' assurances, I know this problem will repeat itself. (unless of course I make drastic changes to my setup which will be a major inconvenience)

Next, we have the newest version of Word on the laptop. She bought it online, downloaded it and the code to make it work. Now she's used the code too many times (due to all these cpu problems within the last few months) and she had to go through hell just to get it on the new laptop. If we send the laptop to HP repair, I just know they'll reformat it. Can Word be backed up somehow? For that matter, can all the programs be backed up, settings and all? We went through a lot of blood, sweat, tears and arguments to get this thing set like we want it and the idea of doing it again makes me nauseous. Halp? Thanks ya'll.

Oh, I was savvy enough to create a shared folder between the laptop and our desktop if that helps.

Help me figure out this strange laptop battery behavior.

wfrgms — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:26:50 -0800

Help me figure out this strange laptop battery behavior. This is a Dell Latitude D410 with a six cell battery.

It holds a charge, powers the laptop, recharges while running on AC, but doesn't show up as installed in either the BIOS or Windows. No battery icon, the power hot key shows it as missing, and the text in the BIOS says, "not installed."

This is extra annoying because the OS thinks it is on AC power and will run full bore until it abruptly looses power.

All drivers are current, BIOS is up to date. This problem started started a few weeks ago at an unknown time. I've looked all over the Dell forums and can't find any explanation for this behavior. Is the battery failing?

The OS is Windows Server 2003 SP2.

Should I get a new battery or a new laptop?

bluefly — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:10:31 -0800

Should I buy a new laptop battery or a new laptop? I've been using my trusty Thinkpad T41 for ages. The battery is now completely dead (I know it's not my computer's problem, because my friend's battery charges quite nicely). A new battery from Lenovo costs $159. I've been looking at all of those netbooks that have come out that are ~$400. Their specs are all better than my Thinkpad (which has a 40GB hd and only 512 MB ram).

I use my computer to write, surf the web, occasionally watch a DVD and do email. For work, I usually connect remotely using putty. I don't need anything fancy. The Thinkpad still works great for me (although the fan has become a bit noisier), but do I just not know what I'm missing? Is it worth spending money for a new battery or should I look for a new computer? How much longer can my Thinkpad last?

Four Years of Dedicated Service

Monstrous Moonshine — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:29:27 -0800

Powerbook G4 (hardware?) woes, followed by death of battery LEDs. Firstly, excuse my style of description.

Yeah, I gave my laptop a tap to the side, which was followed by the Beach Ball. The charge was low (according to the battery LEDs), so I let the thing cool down and, after a little charging, I started the computer. Backlight came on, but the screen remained black. The fan quickly turned on; it was obvious to me the thing was working very hard at some futile task.

The computer only correctly started once. After, like, taking out the battery, three PMUs, blah blah... The thing stopped working again mid-trash-emptying. Earlier, I noticed the LEDs only work when the computer's plugged in. Now the LEDs are always dead. :| What?

I'm itching to crack the thing open and look for something loose. If you have some advice for key signs of easy fix/dead mother board/etc... lemme know.

Help me avoid laptop death!

karyotypical — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:05:27 -0800

My computer is flaking out on me (perhaps due to my NVIDIA driver?). I can't get it to a tech support place until Thanksgiving! Help! I have a HP Pavilion dv2000 pc with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 driver (bought June 2007). I use my computer everyday to do powerpoint presentations for my job, so I hook my laptop up to an LCD projector. However, as of late (especially after using the LCD projector), if my computer is shut down, put to sleep, or hibernates, it shuts down completely and will not turn back on. I'll press the power button, and the power light will come on but none of the keys work and the fan doesn't run no matter how long I wait. I have to keep turning the power button on and off 10 or 15 times before the screen randomly comes back on.

Further complicating things, when it does turn on, it will either say the NVIDIA driver recovered from an error or the screen will turn black and I can only get it to display by toggling between display modes (fn + f4). Also, and this may not be related, but the battery life indicator doesn't seem to be working, so I don't know when my computer is about to shut down due to reaching critical battery level.

So far my only solution has been to keep the power on with the charger in all the time. I'm don't know a whole lot about computers, but even I know this can't be good.

Any idea what might be causing this? Any ideas how to fix this (besides keeping my computer running all hours of the day)? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Battery takes charge, but won't work!@#$

yazi — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:48:13 -0800

Dell battery may be dead, or maybe it's software. I'm stumped. My Dell Latitude D820 laptop (about 2 yrs. old) will no longer operate on battery power. The battery is model #DF192 -- specifically 85Wh. If I install it, I get the flashing orange color icon. With the battery removed, the computer is fine on line-power, and does not flash any icons at me. The Device Mgr. says that the Battery/Adapter drivers are "working".

However, the battery seems to able to receive a good charge. When I first took it out and left it on my desk about 12 weeks ago, I pressed the test button and all green lights lit. When I tested two days ago, no lights. (Does battery power slowly leak out over months?) But I simply popped it back into the laptop and later, when tested, all lites were green again!!

A) a messed up battery? or B) insidious software problem? Pls recommend the best (reliability, price) source for a new or rebuilt battery; or if B), what can a non-tech do?? How to make proper tests?

What's mah mAH?

ictow — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:44:52 -0800

I need to buy a new battery for my Dell Inspiron 6000, and I've found two options: A and B. Obviously A is more expensive, but it has a higher mAH. I by default prefer the longest battery life possible, but I also don't know jack about laptop batteries. Searching the google has given me only whiffs and bits of information. Tell me hive, is 8000mAH better than 6600mAH enough to warrant $20 more? What can I expect from each, very roughly, in terms of hours of continuous use between charges? Also, feel free to inform me that A and/or B are terrible sites I should not buy from.

Vaio gives "system timer error"

daksya — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:58:44 -0800

My laptop gives a "system timer error" and so I probably need some guidance in replacing my laptop's CMOS battery I've an 8 yr old Sony Vaio laptop, model PCG-F590 (a.k.a PCG-9201), which for practical purposes, stopped working 3 weeks ago. The computer boots into XP, but during the login screen, or shortly after logging in, freezes altogether, not responding to any input. Occasionally, it gets stuck during POST itself, displaying "KEYBOARD ERROR" and "SYSTEM TIMER ERROR". Some web browsing tells me that it's likely that the CMOS battery has a lifespan of around 10 years and that could be the issue here.

Before I replace the battery, is there something else I should look into? There was no physical trauma inflicted on the laptop, and I guess the system timer hardware itself hasn't gone kaput. This initially happened all of a sudden while watching a video (the sole purpose of the laptop) 3 weeks ago.

I searched online and this store indicates that the battery is NiMH 2 cells with a mainboard connector. How specific do I have to be with the battery purchase besides the voltage and the connector type?

Most importantly, before I open my laptop, I'd like to know where the battery is located and how I should go on about replacing it? Despite my best efforts, I can't find a motherboard schematic for this laptop. The laptop's way past warranty and besides I'm not the original owner. Repair businesses here charge exorbitantly, so I'd like to do it myself.

How do I buy the right laptop battery when all the sites tell me I need something different?

kingjoeshmoe — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:07:05 -0800

Help my buy a new laptop battery! I recognize that I should be able to figure this out myself. My laptop battery looks like its dying (battery light constantly flashing, and it won't charge), and I want to buy a replacement. There are many battery stores out there that will tell me what battery I need for my computer. The problem is, they all give me different answers! Voltage numbers are slightly off (some are 10.8, others 11.1), as are size ratios. Is that because they're all right, and all will work, or do none of them know what they're talking about?

My computer is an IBM Thinkpad T43 1871.

Lenovo tells me to get this one, but it doesn't explicitly say it works for the T43, just for the T40 series, and they don't have my particular T43 in there (they start at 1872).

Random site 1 tells me either this or this will work. Note the voltage differences between these and Lenovo.

Random site 2 tells me to get this. You get the idea.

Please help me.

Is my off-brand laptop battery toast?

stopgap — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:39:34 -0800

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.

Life is such a drain.

oddman — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:12:17 -0800

My laptop battery drains even when the computer is turned off. So, I went ahead and bought this computer. But now I seem to have some odd behavior. The battery will lose charge even when the laptop is completely shut down. (I don't have wake-on-lan enabled.)

I have read in other forums that this is typical behavior for a Toshiba. So I some questions.

1) Is this typical behavior for a Toshiba or other brand of laptop? (My dell didn't do this.)

2) Short of removing the battery is there anything I can do to stop the drain? (Will leaving the battery out help it to drain less severely?)

3) Will this seriously erode the life of the battery (or does Toshiba provide batteries that take the behavior into account)?

Mysterious battery light behaviour...

synecdoche — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:52:53 -0800

My girlfriend has a Dell Inspiron, and the battery light won't stop flashing. Last night, my girlfriend and I were watching a movie on her Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop computer. The battery was almost dead-- the orange light was flashing-- so we plugged it in. However, since then, the light won't stop flashing, except when the battery is removed, or it is run down. The computer still runs fine, with and without the power supply plugged in. Aside from the flashing, the computer seems to be working, but she's understandably nervous that something is going to go on it and she'll lose all her data. We're trying to figure out what the matter is. The flash pattern is identical to what is described here-- one green, then four orange. I thought I'd ask, though, as there didn't seem to be any conclusion reached on the previous thread, and thought it was worth another shot.

The battery is a little over a year old-- it was replaced on the "exploding battery" recall last year. Is it toast, or is there something else going on? I would have thought it would last longer than that.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The Cat Who Walked on Keyboards

shallowcenter — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:48:12 -0800

Did my cat fry my laptop battery? Either way, what can I do about it? Recently my cat walked across the keyboard of my Lenovo laptop, and the laptop immediately shut off. I was able to turn it on again, but now, whenever I unplug the power cord, the laptop shuts down instead of working off of battery. Also, I cannot start the laptop using the battery only.

I checked the battery to ensure it was properly installed. That did not help.

Naturally, the warranty had just expired, so I can't ask the folks at Lenovo, and a search online didn't turn up anything similar. So, of course, I turn to the wisdom of AskMeFi. Thanks in advance.

Cheap low-power laptop?

wavejumper — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:39:14 -0800

Help point me towards the best laptop for taking into the backcountry... I will be spending next summer in the backcountry and am looking for the most efficient, low-powered, cheap laptop that I can still word process .doc files on. (I'm a writer). I have a very nice very serious 30W foldout solar panel but my iBook G4 actually uses too many watts to run or even charge directly from that, so I'd have to haul more hardware. I'd rather get something super old, cheap, linux, etc. used or otherwise that's cute and yet can do Word and has a decent keyboard...AND has a SUPER-LONG extended battery life.
Anyone use an XO computer yet? The 1-laptop-per-child project . I could buy one of those and help some poor kid out as well for $400 - so that's the standard to go by. Can anyone recommend me any older model, cheaper thing than that?
No, I don't want one of those one-line-screen typing machines. I want a real computer.

Peddle to the [lithium] metal

trim17 — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:15:27 -0800

Where to buy a laptop battery? What's the best place to get a laptop battery for an old Dell Inspiron 3800? I picked one up for $20 at a garage sale, but it won't hold a charge. It works fine when it's plugged into the dock. I was looking online for a battery, but most seem not quite legit. So what's a safe, prompt, cheap, etc., site to buy a battery online? Bonus points if they take PayPal.

Brand New Ibook Battery Won't Charge

ilyanassa — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:46:36 -0800

My new off-brand battery for my ibook G4 won't charge past 49%. Help! I just bought a new battery for my 14" ibook G4 from batteryheads.com. As per Apple's instructions, I installed the new battery and left it plugged in overnight, intending to fully charge it and then fully discharge it.

Well, it's been plugged in for almost 12 hours now, and it's still only charged to 49%, according to the computer. All four of green lights on the battery itself are lit, apparently indicating full charge. I have tried restarting the computer and resetting the PMU, but no change.

Should I let it discharge? Will this reduce the battery's power? Do I have a bad battery? Help! I have so much work that needs to get done on upcoming plane flights!

How can I get my laptop to tell me how much charge it really has?

cholly — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:27:57 -0800

My laptop tells me that my battery is Critical, then it lasts for a further half hour! What is going on? I've got a four year old Dell Latitude X200. The battery usually has 35-50 minutes of charge, but Windows XP tells me that it is Low (5%) after 15 minutes, and Critical (2%) after 20. A few days ago, I decided to test it, and it lasted a good 15-20 minutes beyond when my computer told me it was critical. I've done it a couple of times since, and still the same outcome.

Is there a way to "re-zero" my laptop to recognize how much charge my battery actually has left?

I realise that it would probably be easier to replace the battery, but I really can't afford one right now.