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#41
Some people have found that the BIOS mistakes the condition of the battery or has trouble detecting it. Sometimes flashing the BIOS with the newest BIOS version will solve the problem. It is recommended not to try this until you get the problem with a new battery. Also, some people don't realize the "new" battery they get a clearance deal on has been sitting in a warehouse for 1 or 2 years. It is my understanding from what I have read recently that what the Os shows it what its getting from the BIOS. My BIOS was recommending I get a new battery before 7 was. The next paragraph is skip-able.
As for people blaming 7, I did not have problems with mine until it was 18 months old, and it stopped detecting it when it was 19-20 months old. I had the RC installed for four or five months with no issues and it wasn't until a few days after installing the RTM that I first got the message. According to what I've read on Dell.com, with the way I have used it, it shouldn't even hold a charge, as it is 28 months old. While trying to cycle the battery I discovered that it does last about 30 minutes with high performance power settings, and it took a longer time to charge than I thought it would, so I know it can hold a half-decent charge. I did notice in the last couple months before the message appeared the battery was dying in around an hour. When I first got it, the battery would last 3.5 hours. Also, Dell batteries have an external power meter. The Meter now only shows when it is nearly dead, or fully charged. If its inbetween, then it shows one or the other. This tells me that it is definitely something wrong with the battery itself.
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