Laptop charging problem

[bannerwitcoff]

Hi,

I have a Dell Inspiron 3800 running Win2K, out of warrantee. I've switched out several batteries on this machine, charged them fully so that the battery reading in the BIOS and in Windows shows its at a 100% charge and estimates anywhere from a 1 to 2 hour projected battery life. (The LCD meter on the battery itself also shows a full charge.) However, the batteries actually end up lasting only about 15 minutes. I've tried disabling power management, switching the batteries to the second slot, updating the BIOS, etc. No change in the results. What would cause a fully charged battery to drain that quickly? Thank you for your help.

 

[imported_NoGodForMe]

How long have you had the batteries?
The shelf life starts when the battery is born, not when you start using it.
That means, you don't want to buy an extra battery, unless you need to start using it right away.
Here, read this for some info.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
You can also ask over here at
www.notebookforums.com
And it depends on what you are doing. Play FPS games and the computer will only run for about 30 minutes. Watch a DVD and you might be able to see the entire thing.
Also, it has been found, that if you complete drain the battery to nothing, it won't come back all the way. Many Sager users found this out the hard way, draining their battery, and then only have half the life the next time around. One person's battery died and didn't come back at all.
The search function works on the Sager boards. Search for the word battery and you'll eventually find the threads.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: bannerwitcoff
What would cause a fully charged battery to drain that quickly? Thank you for your help.

Any laptop battery will eventually do that - the answer is old age. Anything beyond three years is gravy.