So are laptop batteries not what they use to be (battery problems)?

So, last Summer my mother bought me an HP Pavalion laptop. The specs are irrelevant as the problem has to do with the batteries (yes, plural).

When I first used the laptop (maybe 2 or 3 months later. My mother bought it as part of a deal for me because I wasn't around to do it myself), I noticed that the battery didn't hold a charge. I had to send it back to HP and then they replace it.

Well, I have used my laptop sparingly the last few months (possibly not at all for the last two), then turned it on to find out that once again I have a broken battery. My laptop has not moved much more than an inch since that time so it's not like I have been bouncing it around.

I have heard about batteries exploding but not noticed nor heard anything about HP having problems with batteries breaking down after a few months of use. Anyone else having these types of problems? I should note that the last laptop I had was also an HP and aside from the annoying fact that the battery quickly only held a charge for 45 minutes, it still could HOLD a charge.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The problem could be the laptop itself. There may be manufacturing error somewhere in the laptop that is causing a load on the battery even when the laptop is off and this would both drain the battery and eventually reduce its capacity. Or there could be a problem with the power port on the laptop which is the cause of the battery not charging properly. OR there could be a problem with your power adapter and its not output proper voltage to charge the battery.

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Originally Posted by mortis

Well, I have used my laptop sparingly the last few months (possibly not at all for the last two), then turned it on to find out that once again I have a broken battery. My laptop has not moved much more than an inch since that time so it's not like I have been bouncing it around.

Did you plug the laptop to a AC adapter before booting it up?
I don't know if you've taken this into account. But after a month of not charging the battery (or not using the laptop) it will lose most if not all of its charge.
Plus, if your laptop is more or less a powerhouse you can't expect a 6-9 cell battery to put out power for more than an hour of constant use.

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Well, the strange thing is this is the second battery to go. When I FIRST got the second battery, it could hold a charge.

When I used it a few months ago, I didn't even bother to charge it and the laptop still held a previous charge (which was actually a month or so prior to that).

Obviously, over time the battery will lose power. I realize that. However, what is happening is it won't hold a charge at all now. And this is with it barely being used in the last few months. So it's not like the battery and even the laptop itself is being used an insane amount. It is used a minimal amount, like maybe six hours tops in the last six months (so one hour per month).

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So, it holds a charge now. Very, very strange. I have had no problems for the last three weeks. Maybe not charging it for several months was the cause? Anyway, closed.

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