Laptop Doesn't Fully Shut Down - Causing Battery Charge Loss While Off

[008Rohit]

I have a 2.5 months old Fujitsu Lifebook AH532.

Specs:

i3 2348M - 2.3GHz
4GB Single Module 1333 DDR3
500GB HDD 5400RPM
Windows 8 64-bit

Okay, so the problem is that it doesn't ever get fully shut down. I had noticed that if I fullly charge the battery at night, I'd wake up next morning and see the charge level at 94% or so... Same is the case with 91% at night and 84% the next morning.

I've found out Windows reporting an uptime of more than 3 days, which shocked me.

I've tried turning off Anytime USB Charge from BIOS, Hybrid Sleep in Windows, ODD Power Management in BIOS, but all to no avail.

It actually gets a break only when I restart it from Windows. All the drivers are up to date, according to Fujitsu DeskUpdate. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[corkyg]

Check all your power management options including what happens when the lid is closed. Sounds like it may have something running such as a USB charging port. I know you say you disabled them, but sometimes there i. more than one switche

 

[sm625]

Are you saying that when you Shut Down it doesnt actually shut down? Or you mean you let it sleep/hibernate and it wakes up in the middle of the night? At any rate check your event viewer.

 

[corkyg]

You might also consider setting everything to factory default.

 

[Matt1970]

Some things are not adding up. You indicate a 6% power loss overnight. Are you shutting down and then unpugging the charger?

 

[C1]

Ya, sounds like charging ports are active. Plug a media device in it and see if there is power.

A guess is that you need to go thru the power management options to make the necessary configuration adjustment/setting.

Sometimes also, the manufacturer provides their own utility for things such as "Anytime USB Charge", so check the user manual. Also inspect add/remove software to see what utilities have been installed.

 

[Ketchup]

A feature I have been seeing in new machines is to keep USB ports available at all times, whether the machine is on or off. I have not yet seen this feature in a laptop, but I wouldn't be surprised.

If this is the case, I would expect to see settings for this in the laptop's BIOS.

 

[C1]

Ya, forgot about the BIOS. Probably that's it.

That Fujitsu model has "Anytime USB Charge" feature -
"This function is available with certain USB ports. "Anytime USB Charge" allows you to charge your phones / media devices even when the notebook is turned off."

http://www.fujitsu.com/se/products/computing/pc/notebooks-tablets/all-round/lifebook-ah532/

 

[008Rohit]

This is resolved now. It's actually an issue of Windows 8 which puts the computer into some sort of 'deep sleep' mode by default when I shut it down. This is apparently part of Windows 8's 'fast startup' feature. I've used shutdown.exe for full shutdown (http://www.howtogeek.com/129021/how-to-do-a-full-shutdown-in-windows-8-without-disabling-hybrid-boot/) and the issue is solved. Used the laptop with the charging cable plugged in yesterday night. And today morning it still shows 'battery fully charged (100% remaining)'.

On a side note, I tend to keep the charger plugged in all the time when I'm home (which is the case most of the times). I do this because I believe this way the battery will last the longest (without it getting used much). So, I don't run the notebook on battery unless I really NEED to.

What'd be the best way to keep the battery good (working) for the longest period of time in your opinion?

This was my initial review of it: http://techtage.com/2013/04/review-fujitsu-lifebook-ah532/

 

[Ketchup]

This is resolved now. It's actually an issue of Windows 8 which puts the computer into some sort of 'deep sleep' mode by default when I shut it down. This is apparently part of Windows 8's 'fast startup' feature. I've used shutdown.exe for full shutdown (http://www.howtogeek.com/129021/how-to-do-a-full-shutdown-in-windows-8-without-disabling-hybrid-boot/) and the issue is solved. Used the laptop with the charging cable plugged in yesterday night. And today morning it still shows 'battery fully charged (100% remaining)'.

On a side note, I tend to keep the charger plugged in all the time when I'm home (which is the case most of the times). I do this because I believe this way the battery will last the longest (without it getting used much). So, I don't run the notebook on battery unless I really NEED to.

What'd be the best way to keep the battery good (working) for the longest period of time in your opinion?

This was my initial review of it: http://techtage.com/2013/04/review-fujitsu-lifebook-ah532/

Glad you figured it out. Yeah, you actually have to look for how to shut down 8. It's not as simple as the previous versions were. And to answer your question, the best way to extend the life of your laptop battery is to leave it out of the laptop when not using it. When you are plugged in with the battery connected, the power supply is still constantly charging the battery, just at a slower rate.

If you want to keep the battery in, the next best thing is to not charge the battery to 100%, and to not let it get very low either. Look in the power options for your laptop and see if there is an option for this. If not in the Windows power options, look in the Fujitsu ones, if available.

 

[008Rohit]

Glad you figured it out. Yeah, you actually have to look for how to shut down 8. It's not as simple as the previous versions were. And to answer your question, the best way to extend the life of your laptop battery is to leave it out of the laptop when not using it. When you are plugged in with the battery connected, the power supply is still constantly charging the battery, just at a slower rate.

If you want to keep the battery in, the next best thing is to not charge the battery to 100%, and to not let it get very low either. Look in the power options for your laptop and see if there is an option for this. If not in the Windows power options, look in the Fujitsu ones, if available.

The power supply is still charging the battery constantly even when it's full? I actually keep the charger connected almost always thinking that it'll prevent the battery itself from getting used. When I do that, the battery always stays more than 90% charged. It starts to recharge only when the battery level gets under (I think) 89%.

To make it simple, no further negative impact on the battery if I don't use charger all day, and charge/discharge the battery normally (using the laptop on battery power) during the use-hours in a day?

 

[corkyg]

The best way to preserve your battery when the laptop is at "home," is to charge it to about 50% and then remov e it and store it in a safe cool place. Then you only put it back in the notebook when you travel.

 

[008Rohit]

The best way to preserve your battery when the laptop is at "home," is to charge it to about 50% and then remov e it and store it in a safe cool place. Then you only put it back in the notebook when you travel.

This may sound dumb, but do I have to unscrew a portion of the back or do something similar to take the battery out? I'm not at all experienced with notebooks actually. I mean I've used many in the past, but this is my first one. I've always been a desktop enthusiast. I had to shift to a notebook for my primary tasks when I was diagnosed with scoliosis 3 months back. :|

Another thing... If I keep the battery inserted, it doesn't matter if I use the laptop on battery power mostly or AC power mostly for the battery's lifespan, right?

I tend not to charge batteries (of phones, tablets etc.) unless they've as less as 10-15% charge remaining and when I do, I almost always fully charge them. I think I had read somewhere that this is the best for Li-ion and similar batteries when they're indeed getting used.

Thanks for your help by the way.

 

[008Rohit]

I've taken the battery out and kept it in a cool, dry, dark place.

Laptop's working fine on AC power. Hope the battery lasts for 2-3 years or more.