Why won't my laptop charge?

July 12, 2009 4:13 PM

My Aspire 3680 (crappy laptop PC) doesn't want to hold a charge anymore, with either battery. How do I determine if it's my laptop, my batteries, or my charger? (I have a VOM and know how to use it).
posted by Emera Gratia to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

How old is it? If it's 3 years old, it's the battery. LiIon batteries have an effective life of about 3 years irrespective of how they've been used, how many times they've been charged and discharged.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:46 PM on July 12, 2009

Regarding battery life:

[Lithium ion batteries] Loses 20% percent of their capacity per year, starting with the date of manufacture. This assumes, of course, that the batteries are charged properly and kept at a moderate temp. At full charge at 40C, the loss of capacity is 35% per year. At 60C, the loss is 40% every 90 days.

This is inherent in the current design used for LiIon batteries and there's nothing a user can do to prevent it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:04 PM on July 12, 2009

Take out the battery and run the laptop entirely off the charger. If it works then it's definitely not the charger.
posted by I-baLL at 6:02 PM on July 12, 2009