Laptop battery draining when laptop is shut down

[PSCO2007]

I have an HP Probook 4540S.

I don't use it that often and when I put it away, I make sure the battery is at 100%.

Today, I went to use it, and it would not power on.

I plugged in the A/C adapter and it powered up and showed the battery at 0%.

I called HP and they said that is normal and if I'm not going to use it for more than a week, to remove the battery.

I went to the HP forum, and they said just the opposite- The Mod said it has to be a software problem or a crappy battery.

Which is correct and would removing the battery when not using it be okay?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Gator]

Batteries do lose a certain percentage while being shutoff, usually 2-3% but it can be higher. The battery could be completely normal or it could be going bad. Typically this is from heat or poor charging habits (don't worry, everyone does it).

Here is a link to help you better understand laptop battery usage:
BatteryCare - Proper laptop battery usage guide

 

[PSCO2007]

Thanks for reply,

Now I have a bigger headache than ever! LOL

To keep plugged or unplugged, that is the question.

According to all the blogs and forums at HP, it seems that every one has an opinion and no two are alike.

I guess when I know I'll be using it the next day, I'll charge it the night before.

 

[TVeblen]

The reason there are so many opinions is that no 2 people use their computers alike! You have to apply 'the rules' to what you are doing.

Most advice comes from people who use their computers every day (some folks never shut them off!). The advice is sound if you use yours every day.

But if you are not using a PC, particularly a laptop, for extended periods of time then you must alter some of the standard rules. Here are some things to think about if you are going to leave a laptop OFF for an extended period:

• I would guess an "extended period" to be greater than 7 days
• The best thing to do for long term storage is to remove all power. But, Desktop or laptop, this will drain the small coin size motherboard battery that will continue to run the clock on the motherboard. And since replacing this battery on a laptop is an advanced project, you might want to avoid draining it.
• A Lithium ion battery is not supposed to be kept under constant charge, this can shorten it's life. So some say you should remove the battery and use only the power supply if the laptop is going to be off for long periods of time. This will spare the coin battery but it does use more utility power.

The battery in a laptop turned off should keep it's power for a week or more. If your battery can't, then it is most likely a bad battery.

 

[LightningMC]

Just Turn off Wifi or Turn on Airplane Mode before shutting down or sleep

 

[georgeks]

When working at HP Financial Services the guidelines were: When the battery is fully charged remove it from the system. This included the case when the system was shut down. As Gator stated there is a drain if the battery is left connected (and degradation of battery if the AC Adapter remains connected as well).

 

[cyclops]

How old is your battery PSCO2007?

 

[Bongo]

I hope you guys realize this is a year old thread your posting in.

Jerry

 

[cyclops]

I hope you guys realize this is a year old thread your posting in.

Jerry

Thank you Jerry. I hope he has replaced that battery by now.

 

[PSCO2007]

How old is your battery PSCO2007?

It is one year old-from new laptop purchase.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Removing the battery should not be required.

When plugged in, the charge should cycle (keep things moving).
The chips that control the charging of the battery should...
...allow the battery to charge fully
...stop the charge automatically
...allow the battery to discharge to ~90%
...start the charge again.

The last couple of phones that I had used this "keep things moving" method. Some people disagree with that so much that they rewrote that part of the OS. You could root the phone, install their version of the OS and have it never stop charging when plugged in.

On Dell laptops, you can see this charge cycling via the battery charging lights - even when the laptop is off. I'm not sure what HP does with its lights, but I would bet that the charge automatically cycles. I don't know of a single chip manufacturer that makes "charging chips" that don't cycle the power.