Old laptop battery died, do I need a new one or just leave plugged in?

mrcheez

The battery in my trusty old Toshiba laptop from 2003(!) finally died. I leave the laptop permanently plugged in and the only reason I noticed the battery issue was that the machine wouldn't start until I removed it.

Question: Apart from the safety net that the battery provides (avoiding turning off during thunderstorms/power cuts etc), is there any necessity to getting a new battery considering the computer is a permanent desk fixture? i.e. is it damaging to run it over the long-term without the battery attachment?

The screens gone so I have to use an external monitor so I'll never use it while roaming.

I'm assuming it's fine without the battery but just thought I'd check as I'm not too au-fait with laptop hardware/mobos.

mrcheez

Anyone?

AndyBoBandy

I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace the battery (have you priced a replacement?).

If the replacement was cheap, i.e. less than €20-€30, I'd maybe consider a replacement, but wouldn't be too worried if I didn't replace it.

badboybubby

My laptop battery died about a year ago and I've been using it plugged in since then without any problems.It's not worth buying a new one .

macplaxton

It'll be fine without the battery.

mrcheez

cool ... battery is about 70-80 eurobucks so just curious

Probably more than the machine is worth

AndyBoBandy

mrcheez wrote: »

cool ... battery is about 70-80 eurobucks so just curious

Probably more than the machine is worth

forget it then, just run it off the power supply, taking care to always save your work as often as you can i.e. don't type a 20 page word document and not save your progress every page/paragraph for fear of a power cut.

mrcheez

Andybobandy wrote: »

forget it then, just run it off the power supply, taking care to always save your work as often as you can i.e. don't type a 20 page word document and not save your progress every page/paragraph for fear of a power cut.

yep, I was a bit panicked when it wouldn't start... nothing too important on it thankfully :pac:

Alanstrainor

Keep it going, but backup every last bit of data on it just in case. Always cool to hear of machines that old still going!

cerastes

Did you try ebay? you might get a cheap spurious battery?
I got one for an older laptop, provides some kind of backup time.

mrcheez

If I was going to get a battery I'd get a new one as there's no idea how long a used one will last

cerastes

You can buy new stuff on ebay, I wasnt suggesting buying a secondhand battery.
I got a laptop battery new and cheap, it just wasnt OEM, ie spurious make, but could easily be the same parts, that battery was way better than the original battery was.

AndyBoBandy

mrcheez wrote: »

If I was going to get a battery I'd get a new one as there's no idea how long a used one will last

you might only need a battery that will give just enough time to save any work in the event of a power cut,

my old Dell Inspiron 5150 has a battery that when fully charged lasts about 6-7 minutes, which is more than enough to save any work if the power goes out.

mrcheez

Andybobandy wrote: »

you might only need a battery that will give just enough time to save any work in the event of a power cut

That's what I had, but it seems that even though the battery was never used (plugged in all the time) it still died and prevented the laptop from starting up.

The price I quoted was cheapest new battery on ebay/amazon/etc.

Regarding "spurious batteries" how can I be sure of a match if I don't search for a battery specific to the machine? Are all batteries of a specific wattage a match?

Thud

I an old Toshiba laptop that needed a small amount of juice in the battery to start up, battery would only last seconds if unplugged...eventually the battery totally died so had to get a new one. Got a non branded one lasted a year or so.

cerastes

mrcheez wrote: »

That's what I had, but it seems that even though the battery was never used (plugged in all the time) it still died and prevented the laptop from starting up.

The price I quoted was cheapest new battery on ebay/amazon/etc.

Regarding "spurious batteries" how can I be sure of a match if I don't search for a battery specific to the machine? Are all batteries of a specific wattage a match?

Depending on the battery, you need to let it charge and discharge, at least from time to time. You can keep it plugged in a lot or even most of the time, and I do that with my latest laptop as the battery lasts quite a while but not as long as Id like.
But keeping it plugged in constantly topping up the battery may not be good for the longevity of the battery life or for its capacity when not being charged.

You'll have to put some search info in, look for the name and model of your laptop and the model, type or other details on the battery, you should be able to find some kind of a match. There should be some images, confirm the charge connections look the same, but dont rely on the images, check other details, like the make and model its suitable for.

mrcheez

cerastes wrote: »

Depending on the battery, you need to let it charge and discharge, at least from time to time. You can keep it plugged in a lot or even most of the time, and I do that with my latest laptop as the battery lasts quite a while but not as long as Id like.
But keeping it plugged in constantly topping up the battery may not be good for the longevity of the battery life or for its capacity when not being charged.

You'll have to put some search info in, look for the name and model of your laptop and the model, type or other details on the battery, you should be able to find some kind of a match. There should be some images, confirm the charge connections look the same, but dont rely on the images, check other details, like the make and model its suitable for.

It's not plugged into the wall all the time, but plugged in when in use.

Anyway I'll have a look and see if there's a match but honestly I'm not too bothered as it's just a desktop-only machine and the screen is gone so wouldn't be bringing it anywhere.

I may be getting a backup power supply to share among the laptop and PC (that it sits next to) so it may be better spending money on that instead.

mrcheez

Thud wrote: »

I an old Toshiba laptop that needed a small amount of juice in the battery to start up, battery would only last seconds if unplugged...eventually the battery totally died so had to get a new one. Got a non branded one lasted a year or so.

Did the laptop stop working (even when plugged in) when the battery totally died (while battery was still connected)?