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  1. #1
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    Default Laptop Batteries

    Help me please!

    It is the hidden costs that make this hobby so expensive. I have just replaced my laptop battery at a cost of £130!!!! The laptop is just a year old.
    I am obviously not using my laptop efficiently and I can not find anywhere on the net to advise me should I let the battery run down before I charge it or keep it topped up frequently.
    Can someone tell me, just think what £130 would buy I could get a subscription and some certificates.
    From a proper technophobe.
    ELMA

  2. #2
    pippycat
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    Hi Elma,
    Thats a lot of money to pay out for something only a year old (you could have got a new laptop for that!) couldn't you get the battery replaced under warranty?
    No matter how or when you charge the battery I'd expect it to last longer than 1 year.

    My laptop is 4 years old and I leave it plugged into the mains all the time, whether right or wrong, its still going with no problems - even after using it elsewhere and the battery gets rundown it goes straight back into the mains where it stays till next time!

    I'm sure somebody with tech. knowledge will be along to help you further.
    Rebecca.

  3. #3
    David Benson
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elma View Post
    I can not find anywhere on the net to advise me
    You should refer to your instructions that came with the laptop - There are different types of battery that often require different charging methods. One year does seem a short life unless it's been overheated.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Thanks everyone and I will look at what you have said Notanotherminer, anything is worth a try.
    Apparently batteries are not covered in the guarantee and it seems by listening to friends and looking at the reviews this is a problem on some newer models. My last laptop, same make, was five years old and the original battery still held a good charge, only the burglars took it!
    I can not find anything in the manual to suggest good housekeeping but I will look at the power management options.
    Thanks again ELMA

  5. #5
    mfwebb
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    I've always believed, rightly or wrongly, that rechargeable batteries should be run down before re-charging. I read somewhere once that if rechargeable batteries are topped up frequently they remember where they are topped up from and then the battery life diminishes rapidly. This might have only been applicable to one particular type of rechargeable battery. Anyway, I've tried to follow this rule -- except with laptop computers. Wherever possible I run my laptop from mains and only use battery power for short periods where mains power is not available.

    My wife and I have identical iPhones, bought at the same time. I let mine run down before re-charging; Sheila tops hers up at every opportunity. My battery now seems to last twice as long as hers before it runs down!!

    As for £130 for a new battery -- I have just bought a Samsung netbook for £180 with a battery life advertised at "up to 10 hours". It ran flat after 7 hours -- but that's far longer than any laptop battery. We bought it for when we visit record offices etc just for searching the net and for referencing our databases in Brother's Keeper and for accessing our reference material. Far more convenient than carrying paperwork around. We have just spent a week at ScotlandsPeople and decided not to take the laptop as we travelled by train and were going on a coach tour of the Scottish Highlands immediately after. So we didn't want to drag the laptop about. The lady on the next computer to us had a netbook and she was searching the ScotlandsPeople databases while looking at other on-line databases on the netbook and accessing all her reference material on her netbook. That's where we got the idea from. The netbook packs in a suitcase and we can carry it in a small rucksack when necessary. It now travels with us everywhere we go.

    All the best,

    Malcolm Webb
    Lincoln UK

  6. #6
    Guest
    Guest

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    There are different regimes for charging different types of battery but the memory effect which Malcolm mentions should not apply to modern rechargeables.

    I recently bought an Asus netbook with max battery life advertised as 10/11 hours and had the same 7 hour experience but the manual does make clear that the maximum can only be achieved after the battery has been recharged a number of times.

    If a replacement/extended life battery is required it's worth looking around for equivalents rather than manufacturer badged batteries. Take the precaution, before purchasing, of a fair bit of Google searching, looking at feedback and reviews of different products. I bought a 6 hour battery for my previous Acer netbook (which came with a 2/3 hour battery) a couple of years ago for just over £50 delivered and it's been fine.

  7. #7
    Loves to help with queries
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    Default

    My Laptop battery is coming to the end of its life where is the best place to buy and how much would you expect to pay £ 130 does seem a lot Mine is a Dell Inspiron
    Sue

  8. #8
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    Default

    Had ours via eBay a couple of years ago from China(!) It was nowhere near £130 - I seem to remember it was less than £30 :-)

  9. #9
    DorothySandra
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    I put this question out on the internet, after getting lots of conflicting advice. The upshot was: the older your laptop or tablet, the more important it is that you let it run down every time, and don't use it much while recharging. I would have claimed a replacement for a battery only a year old, but I don't know whether I would have been successful. Always worth a try, I think.

    In newer computers, you can use them while plugged in, but allow them to run down completely about once a month. I've been using my laptop this way for about five years, and it still seems ok (touch wood.)

  10. #10

    Default

    With my Dell Inspiron I found that it was the power supply which was faulty, after buying a new battery.

    With my Compaq it is definitely the battery, as I tried another power supply. Battery or new laptop is always a question, but I am still undecided.

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