Windows 7 install battery life indicator

[civint]

I just installed windows 7 on a laptop (around a year and a half old) which with windows vista got around an hour and a half, which was perfect for me (about a lecture's worth of battery), the battery life dropped to about half an hour and the indicator was telling me that there was something wrong with the battery, giving a 'consider replacing the battery' message.

I wonder if it is a genuine problem, or just a software issue (MS deny any problems, but tbh I'm not so sure). I haven't tried anything else, like a linux distro or something, but I wondered if something like that would show up any problems if they existed?

 

[richc46]

Have you tried adjusting the power settings? Make sure they are not set for performance?

 

[Frostmourne]

Download the Ubuntu live cd - however it seems your battery is broken and in need of replacement. With the live cd, try running on battery and see if Ubuntu reports the battery is losing charge. If it doesn't I'd replace the battery.