Laptop battery problem

[mrclub]

Problem Number 1
Recently I realized that my laptop's low battery notification doesn't appear at all, so I thought I had accidentally toggled it off.

Went to Google to search for help, then I went into the specific part of Power Options to toggle on my low battery notification. However, I saw that my low battery notification has already been toggled on. So I thought, probably I reset the defaults, it might help.

Today, the same thing happened again. There was no low battery notification and my laptop went into hibernate mode due to low power. Restart my laptop and went to Power Options again. I still see the low battery notification as "on"

How come this is happening ?

Problem Number 2
The battery icon at my tray states 50% (somewhere there) available, but yet my laptop auto goes into sleep mode, and when I switch on my charger and load my laptop and check, the battery icon shows 5% (can't remember, but it is some % below 8%) available (plugged in, charging)

How come this happen ?

My laptop is Acer Aspire on Vista
​

 

[tom982]

Hello mrclub and welcome to the forums

1. First of all I would like you to scan your computer with Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware

2. Then I would like you to run a SFC Scan:

   Note

SFC Scan:
1. Open the start menu
2. In the search box, type cmd
3. Right click on command prompt and select Run as administrator
4. In command prompt, type:

sfc /scannow

5. Let it run and let me know if it finds any Integrity Violations

If you have any problem following my instructions, follow this tutorial

If it does find any Integrity Violations, then can you follow the steps at the top of the above tutorial in the yellow tip section. ONLY DO THE FIRST PART (READING THE CBS LOG). DO NOT DO THE SECOND PART

 

[Imperfect1]

I am wondering if the problem might actually be in the battery itself or the power adapter or cord. I had a very similar problem and it turned out that after just over a year of use, it was my power adapter. Fortunately I have an extended warranty with HP which doesn't include the battery, but does include the adapter and the cord, so it was covered. But it was a real mystery and we couldn't figure it out --- until the adapter actually died.

 

[tom982]

I was going to try and eliminate any possible software problems, then fix any software problems found - especially because the first part of the problem sounds like something is wrong with windows displaying the notifications.

After doing this, any remaining problems are almost guaranteed to be due to hardware - most probably the battery/cables/regulators.

The free options are always worth trying first and batterys aren't that cheap!

Tom

 

[mcforyou]

This worked perfectly for me when I had the same problem:


Power management software in Windows Vista

Understanding battery charging issues
If the notebook battery is not charging or the notebook does not indicate that the battery is charging, the most likely scenario is that the battery itself is operating correctly, but its power management software may have become corrupt. In order to correct the problem, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the power management software by using the Device Manager. This document will explain how to uninstall and reinstall the ACPI Battery listings in Windows Vista, as well as how to obtain and install updated BIOS files, if needed to correct other battery issues.
Uninstalling and reinstalling power management software in Windows Vista
In order to correct problems with the battery's power management software, follow the steps below.
1. Click Start and type device in the search field, then select Device Manager .
2. Expand the Batteries category.
3. Under the Batteries category, right-click the Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery listing, and select Uninstall .
WARNING: Do not remove the Microsoft AC Adapter driver or any other ACPI compliant driver.
4. On the Device Manager taskbar, click Scan for hardware changes .
Alternately, select Action > Scan for hardware changes .
Windows will scan your computer for hardware that doesn't have drivers installed, and will install the drivers needed to manage your battery's power. Restart your computer. The notebook should now indicate that the battery is charging.

 

[Cytherian]

I've noticed that sometimes my low battery notification doesn't work when some applications are running, perhaps interfering with it.

Part of the problem can be the battery itself. How old is it? Sometimes when they age, the battery chemistry shifts out of tolerance or consistency and can confuse the power management software. I had this happen on one battery. Replacing it fixed the problem.