Battery Life

danniemcq

ok i got a time amd athlon 2400 for about a year and a half now and had no problems with the battery life (2 hours + ) untill recently when the battery dies after 2-5 mins, it won't even get as far as the login screen from boot-up. did anything like this happen anyone else i'd appreciate any feedback at all. oh and this problem seemed to develop overnight and the system is completly virus free

Infini

Are you sure the battery pack itself hasn't died. There was something about battery life being shortened by overcharging. Does your battery icon keep looking like its charging constantly?

miju

had the exact same problem 1 day the battery was fine and the next it wouldnt last longer than 2 mins rang the techie guys and they said it was a result of overcharging but dunno if thats just them tryin to spin me a line or wot

timeout

Ah, batteries go the entire time, just look at mobile phones. They last years then just don't hold any decent charge. You're lucky to get 2 hours + , friends got a new Toshiba and it just about manages an hour.Turned off most of the startup stuff and reduced screen brightness and brought it up to about 1 hour 45min.

Just buy a new battery, about €60 i think.

kasintahan

You can't overcharge laptop batteries - they have built in monitor and cutoff circuts to prevent it.

I leave mine plugged in 24/7 most weeks and it's fine (6 years old and still 1.5hour battery).

Duckjob

A lot of the time it is due to overcharging. Like with mobile phone batteries, if the battery is only used a little, then charged, then used a little again, it loses it's *range*.

Happened to a laptop of mine, because I use it for work during the day, nearly always have it on mains power. The battery got so bad it wouldn't last more than about 1.5 mins from when a/c power was disconnected.

Try this:

1) Switch off all power mgt options in windows. ie. put all options such as hiberate etc. when on battery power to 'never'.
2) Leave the laptop running on battery power until it literally dies. (should suddenly power down completely)
3) Put it on charge overnight
4) Repeat the cycle over and over. You should find the battery life will gradually return.

I had to do this about a dozen times but got my battery life back up to about 1 3/4 hours. Possible could have improved it more but that was enough for me.

Give it a try before you shell out for a new battery.

danniemcq

Cheers Duckjob i'll give that a shot