Looking back, I see that I bought this laptop in October of 2015, meaning I've had it for three and three-quarter, going on four years. Does anyone know if that's a reasonable amount of time for the battery to die in? This is my first (personal) laptop, so it's sort of terra incognita for me here.
What's happened is that Friday night, when I was turning off lights in the office, I noticed the light by the power cord plug wasn't the usual bright color (even when the laptop is shut down, that little light is on). I didn't have the laptop on yesterday, but when I turned it on today, the battery icon hover-over says the laptop is plugged in, but not charging.
I tried the advice in this PC Magazine article, and took the battery out, then turned the computer on, and it did turn on while just plugged in, so it seems the charger is not at fault. I put the battery back in, and the message still says not charging.
I need a new battery, I guess; I mean, the article has a lot of talk of settings and drivers and so on, but I doubt I went over 3.5 years with a setting that is only now screwing me up, right? And replacing the entire machine feels a bit drastic.
Sigh. Technology.
I mostly knit, sometimes crochet or cross-stitch. I read, a lot. I love cats. I love hockey, especially my no-longer-local team, the Boston Bruins. Want more? Read on.
Is the battery draining and not recharging? With my computer, I have noticed that, sometimes, the battery gets down to anywhere between 93-95%, and the icon shows that it's plugged in but not charging, but it never gets any lower than that. Apparently that's normal?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much you use your laptop but that does seem a little early to replace the battery. However, we don't know how old the battery was when it was put into your computer. I can tell you that the husband's laptop, purchased in May 2012 had to have its battery replaced a month or so ago. The battery in my original laptop, purchased in October 2011 is still running strong. My laptop has more hours on it than his.
ReplyDeleteI'd just do it.
Search for battery replacements and I think you should be able to get one for a reasonable price. It's amazing how much one can breathe new life into an old machine. (In my case, an iPhone 6s whose battery had exploded and pushed the back out. New back, new battery, works fine, I think $70 and that's at a place paying insane Silicon Valley rents.)
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