Computer battery?

Question

dell inspirion. says battery is 97% full, but when i take the power cord out of the back, the computer shuts off immediatly. Is there somewhere where you need to have it switch over to battery power?

Answer 1

There is no switch that you have to hit to switch over to battery power.

Most likely, you either have a bad battery or the battery is not seated right.

Try taking the battery completely out, then putting it back in. Half the time that's all it takes to fix an issue like this.

If that doesn't work, then you can check the power leads on the battery with a multimeter. Check to see if is actually supplying the voltage listed. If not you probably have a bad battery.

Answer 2

If you have a bad battery, it may be that you have charged the battery when it is half full. Try to avoid charging it unecessarily as it cuts down battery life-to the point it doesn't even have battery life. When using AC power, remove the battery if possible, although a power trip will turn off your laptop. Batteries which have not been used for a long time may also discharge over the long period and sometimes leak, therefore it is good to use the battery once in a while-drain the battery completely and charge it fully. This way your battery can last a long time.

All rechargeable batteries seem to have these characteristics, which most commonly can be seen in handphones.

Answer 3

How long have you had that battery? If it's been around two years, it's probably time to replace it.

Most laptop batteries tend to stop holding a charge around 24 mos into its useful life. I've owned my laptop for almost four years and just replaced the battery for a second time.

Mine uses a lithium ion pack, which typically doesn't exhibit the memory charging effects seen in NiCd packs. So, while it's probably a good idea to fully discharge the pack before recharging it every now and then, there will come a time when that pack will go AWOL for good.