- Jun 24, 2001
- 24,195
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Smart Battery Workshop's website mentions a "permanent failure flag" that the battery controller can set which can only be reset with a EEPROM writer. None of the battery rebuild guides mention anything about Smart Battery Workshop except this guy (same battery as me), which is where I heard of it from. Basically, none of them mention that their battery shows a Red X in the Windows XP Power Meter dialog and refuses to charge even while displaying the battery level as 0%, so I don't know if I should blindly follow their guides and risk wasting money or look into the sbworkshop thing (EXPENSIVE but it mentions a trial; probably worth it if you expect to run a repair business or trade-in program).
How it happened:
As my netbook neared 9-10 months old, the power plug developed a short, despite being rarely moved and always being extremely delicately handled. It was very difficult to isolate as-such because it didn't seem to have anything to do with the cord's position. Sometimes, putting pressure on the jack itself or turning the barrel connector seemed to interrupt power or restore it while other times it seemed rock-solid (not possible to interrupt). Then again, other times I would find it very difficult to get the power/charge light to come on and stay on at all.
As far as I knew, it was the DC jack, but no one I knew had a compatible plug to test. When I noticed sharply decreased battery life (under 45 minutes on a netbook?!), I knew that I had better hurry up and figure out what the problem was. Acer's RMA policy would not let me send the power plug (STUPID!). Their suggestion? Find someone else and try theirs before sending it in, as if I hadn't already spent tons of time looking to try that!
That month I noticed that I was getting further reduced battery life (under 30mins) so I found an adapter from another broken laptop with the same specs that didn't quite fit and used it (had to secure the DC jack w/tape for a reliable connection). It had the same problem but I couldn't determine then if it were due to the wrong size barrel connector or a bad DC jack, so it didn't help me diagnose the other plug's problem at all. Of course, NOW I know that it was the barrel connnector on this plug and a short in the other.
My warranty ran out a month later while "waiting" as they advised and my capacity was now down to about 5mins despite RARELY ever disconnecting it from the power (except to test and for the recommended monthly power cycle). Because it was continuing to degrade with the other power adapter, I switched back. Suddenly, it stopped charging at all, even when I was getting power from the adapter (new problem).
I ordered an identical replacement for the power cord along with a 9-cell battery. They sent me the wrong cord (smaller two-prong LG w/LED instead of a 3-prong Delta Elec. w/no light), but it did help me confirm that the power issue was with my old cord all along. I'm assuming that the charge issue is a result of that. With the bad battery, if I double-click the charge/plugged in indicator in WinXP, the dialog shows battery "#1" as 0% with a red X over it (not charging). The icon in the tray only shows "plugged in" plug icon but without the charging indicator (plug + electrical bolt icon)
Now that I solved the power cord issue and replaced the battery, I want to rebuild the original 3-cell battery so I can have a spare. Can the issue I describe be attributed to the "Permanent Failure Flag" and, if so, does this mean that I can't simply rebuild it without sbworkshop or similar?
When I google for key terms all I find are similar apps like "Battery EEPROM Works." No ANSWERS.
How it happened:
As my netbook neared 9-10 months old, the power plug developed a short, despite being rarely moved and always being extremely delicately handled. It was very difficult to isolate as-such because it didn't seem to have anything to do with the cord's position. Sometimes, putting pressure on the jack itself or turning the barrel connector seemed to interrupt power or restore it while other times it seemed rock-solid (not possible to interrupt). Then again, other times I would find it very difficult to get the power/charge light to come on and stay on at all.
As far as I knew, it was the DC jack, but no one I knew had a compatible plug to test. When I noticed sharply decreased battery life (under 45 minutes on a netbook?!), I knew that I had better hurry up and figure out what the problem was. Acer's RMA policy would not let me send the power plug (STUPID!). Their suggestion? Find someone else and try theirs before sending it in, as if I hadn't already spent tons of time looking to try that!
That month I noticed that I was getting further reduced battery life (under 30mins) so I found an adapter from another broken laptop with the same specs that didn't quite fit and used it (had to secure the DC jack w/tape for a reliable connection). It had the same problem but I couldn't determine then if it were due to the wrong size barrel connector or a bad DC jack, so it didn't help me diagnose the other plug's problem at all. Of course, NOW I know that it was the barrel connnector on this plug and a short in the other.
My warranty ran out a month later while "waiting" as they advised and my capacity was now down to about 5mins despite RARELY ever disconnecting it from the power (except to test and for the recommended monthly power cycle). Because it was continuing to degrade with the other power adapter, I switched back. Suddenly, it stopped charging at all, even when I was getting power from the adapter (new problem).
I ordered an identical replacement for the power cord along with a 9-cell battery. They sent me the wrong cord (smaller two-prong LG w/LED instead of a 3-prong Delta Elec. w/no light), but it did help me confirm that the power issue was with my old cord all along. I'm assuming that the charge issue is a result of that. With the bad battery, if I double-click the charge/plugged in indicator in WinXP, the dialog shows battery "#1" as 0% with a red X over it (not charging). The icon in the tray only shows "plugged in" plug icon but without the charging indicator (plug + electrical bolt icon)
Now that I solved the power cord issue and replaced the battery, I want to rebuild the original 3-cell battery so I can have a spare. Can the issue I describe be attributed to the "Permanent Failure Flag" and, if so, does this mean that I can't simply rebuild it without sbworkshop or similar?
When I google for key terms all I find are similar apps like "Battery EEPROM Works." No ANSWERS.
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