Computer question?

[TinkerKat]

Hey Gang!
Didn't know where else to post my question.
Hope someone here can help.
I have a Compaq laptop it's probably 3-4 years old.

It's got windows XP svc.2 installed.
The problem I am having is that the battery doesn't seem to be holding a charge. If I got to AC power, after about 10 minutes the "Battery light" starts to blink.
If I unplug it, the whole system shuts down and I can't turn it back on with out plugging it back in. I'm afraid to use it with this "blinking".
Is it possible that I need to replace the battery?

Thanks for any help!
Kathy

 

[matthew_hull]

I would say "Yes." The battery does not last forever, and after 3-4 years it is reasonable to expect that it needs to be replaced.

 

[ukcatfan]

A laptop battery is usually only expected to last one year under a warranty. If you read your warranty close, you should see that. I think you actually did better than average. I had a Gateway and the battery died after about ten months. It was replaced under warranty and that one only lasted about 14 months. I had the three year warranty, but they would not replace it again.

I learned something from their tech guy though. When the battery is in, the system is always running off the battery. When plugged in, it is just in a constant state of recharge which wears the battery out quicker. He told me to take the battery out if I planned on using it off AC power for an extended time. It is also good to run the battery down every once in a while. I do not know if all of this is 100% correct, but that is what he told me and he seemed like one of the few people there with a clue.

Kevin

 

[Taqwus]

Pretty much sounds like the battery is going

 

[ktulu]

Yep, dead battery. It happened in my Sony I had a few years ago. My Powerbook battery has lasted three years, although it doesn't hold as much of a charge, it will still last me about an hour or more depending on what I do.

Apple recommends allowing your battery to discharge fully and then re-charge it fully at least once a month.

 

[dpuck1998]

Let me throw this in there. If you have a battery outlet, or batteries plus store they will refurb your battery for much less than getting a new one!!

 

[TinkerKat]

WOW!
Thanks for all the info! You've all been quite helpful!
DPuck.. what is a battery outlet? Never heard of one of those.

Thanks again! Kathy

 

[dpuck1998]

WOW!
Thanks for all the info! You've all been quite helpful!
DPuck.. what is a battery outlet? Never heard of one of those.

Thanks again! Kathy

Its a battery store, all they sell is batteries. The only one listed
in NY is in DeWitt. Check the web, I'm sure you have battery
store of some kind near you. We use them all the time to refurb
laptops, Power Backups, etc..

 

[seashoreCM]

One thing you can try yourself: Run the computer on battery (AC disconnected) until the computer dies for lack of power. Recharge the battery with the computer powered off. Repeat. See if, after a few repetitions, the battery life starts to get longer.

(Ph.D. in electrical engineering needed) Typically, when a battery is considered discharged, just one of the sections (cells) inside has become fully discharged. The battery is considered ripe for replacement when one of the cells has degraded to the point where it discharges much faster than the others. Some refurbishing outlets will disassemble the battery and replace just that one cell. How long it takes before another cell becomes "the weak link" is unpredictable. For those who have read esoteric accounts and instructions about using small lightbulbs or resistors to more fully discharge a battery between recharges, you should not continue the process after one cell has indeed become fully discharged as evidenced by a voltage drop to a new plateau. Leakage, sometimes explosive, is more likely to occur when just one cell (a typical "flashlight battery" is a single cell) has become discharged and you keep using the device (flashlight, radio, etc.).

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Groucho]

I learned something from their tech guy though. When the battery is in, the system is always running off the battery. When plugged in, it is just in a constant state of recharge which wears the battery out quicker. He told me to take the battery out if I planned on using it off AC power for an extended time. It is also good to run the battery down every once in a while. I do not know if all of this is 100% correct, but that is what he told me and he seemed like one of the few people there with a clue.

Color me skeptical on this one. I've supported hundreds of laptops over the past ten years or so, and that's a new one by me, about removing the battery when on AC power. I don't believe that it is running off the battery, it's running off A/C, and also recharging the battery. If it was running off the battery, the draw would be much stronger (especially as most laptops run the screen brighter, etc when plugged in) and it would take much longer than it does to charge the battery.

Most of the laptops I supported were on 3-year rotations. The majority were still working OK after three years - they didn't hold a charge quite as strong as a new one, but still pretty usably. I have a 6-7 year old laptop here that still runs fine on the battery for a while. Meanwhile, we did have some batteries that died very early, and some where the battery was OK but the laptop wasn't charging it any more.

TinkerCat, try looking at the power meter (double-click the battery icon in the System Tray, down by the clock), that should show you how much charge the battery has and the estimated amount of time remaining before it's empty. If you can watch the battery drain down to nothing after just 10 minutes or so, it's definitely time to replace it if you want portability. I would look at an aftermarket replacement battery (probably online), you can probably find one for a fraction of what an OEM battery would cost - but they're still not dirt-cheap, probably $50 or more off the top of my head.

Unfortunately, laptops are inherently unreliable and expensive to repair, so I would spend as little as possible. Especially when you see pretty spiffy laptops for $400 in the Sunday ads, somewhere even had a $300 one last week... not top-of-the-line, but probably faster and better-equipped than a 3-4-year-old one.

 

[DueyDooDah]

I have to agree with Groucho. Never heard of such a thing and I too have been in the business for a long time. I'd consider a new PC also. Batteries are not cheap and some of the newer, inexpensive laptops may perform better than that Gateway and only cost you a bit more.

 

[dpuck1998]

I have to agree with Groucho. Never heard of such a thing and I too have been in the business for a long time. I'd consider a new PC also. Batteries are not cheap and some of the newer, inexpensive laptops may perform better than that Gateway and only cost you a bit more.

Ditto from this tech support person also. Been running a large school district for 8 years and this is news to me. I would not take my battery out while running from AC.

 

[ukcatfan]

Color me skeptical on this one. I've supported hundreds of laptops over the past ten years or so, and that's a new one by me, about removing the battery when on AC power. I don't believe that it is running off the battery, it's running off A/C, and also recharging the battery. If it was running off the battery, the draw would be much stronger (especially as most laptops run the screen brighter, etc when plugged in) and it would take much longer than it does to charge the battery.

I have to agree with Groucho. Never heard of such a thing and I too have been in the business for a long time. I'd consider a new PC also. Batteries are not cheap and some of the newer, inexpensive laptops may perform better than that Gateway and only cost you a bit more.

Like I said, it is not my own info, but this was the only person at Gateway that had a clue on anything, so I figured that he might be right. I am not looking for a new battery like the OP, just passing on info I have heard before. The laptop in question is currently about six years old and just our spare that the kids use when someone else is already on their pc. BTW... I do not have to high of an opinion of Gateway and will never buy another. I have even stronger feelings against Acer(our new laptop).

Kevin

 

[ktulu]

No problems with my powerbook (3 years old), but it is about to get replaced with a macbook pro soon.