"Consider Replacing Your Battery" - How vital?

[Kythia]

My laptop has started coming up with this icon:



and when I mouseover it it says:

Fully Charged (100%)
Consider Replacing Your Battery

I'll actually be getting a new laptop in a couple of weeks - is the thing likely to die on me before then?  How imminent is battery death when that warning arrives?

[The Dark Raven]

If you are getting a laptop in a few weeks, wing it.

I have been stringing along a non-charging battery for my laptop for 4 years.

[bubby]

If you are getting a laptop in a few weeks, wing it.

I have been stringing along a non-charging battery for my laptop for 4 years.

Ditto. You're not supposed to keep the battery in while plugged in, which I didn't know, so I bought a new one with a new cord after the rabbit chewed through mine. The new battery still isn't really good, but at least it's saved for if this one takes a crap so much that the laptop dies if I unplug it. I currently got like 5 minutes battery life, which is fine. Keeps the thing from tilting over backwards. 

[Vekseid]

My laptop has started coming up with this icon:



and when I mouseover it it says:

I'll actually be getting a new laptop in a couple of weeks - is the thing likely to die on me before then?  How imminent is battery death when that warning arrives?

It's probably based on how much charge the battery holds. It'll just get more and more annoying to depend on the battery.

But their half-life is measured in years, so it's not like a few weeks is going to make much difference. They just hold less and less charge time.

[Kythia]

Awesome.  Thanks guys

[kylie]

     I've been using one of those for over a year now too.  It works fine plugged in until the power dies.  I'm lucky to get an hour out of it , if that, running on battery here. 

      Bought it in Thailand and I'm inclined to suspect it was one of the major reasons it was so cheap.  But it generally works fine.   

[kylie]

Ditto. You're not supposed to keep the battery in while plugged in, which I didn't know...

     I don't know about this really.  But just googled and read there can be some confusion about it -- maybe it's more helpful for the battery to take it out IF you run anything that causes the machine to really heat up.  Though that probably actually includes me in the end, once the 3-d games come out.   

[Psi]

I don't know about this really.  But just googled and read there can be some confusion about it -- maybe it's more helpful for the battery to take it out IF you run anything that causes the machine to really heat up.  Though that probably actually includes me in the end, once the 3-d games come out. 

When it comes to battery maintenance - it depends on the type of battery and the model.    Some laptops when on power run in a reduced CPU mode because it does not have the additional reserves to draw upon as needed if there is a spike in demand.

While I cannot say this with any certainty that its 100% accurate, most devices are designed around a charge / recharge cycle.   Often a constant charge with no discharge will reduce the battery life over time.

My home laptop has a cycle count of 463.  Which means that over 4 years this laptop batttery has been completely discharged 463 times.  (2x 50% battery level = 1 cycle)  This is 2 years of heavy charge/use at work before it was replaced and became my home laptop.   Since then its usually used on power for media etc while the newer more powerful device is used at work.    Most non-time limited battery warranties are built around a 300 cycle count.   A full discharge each work day (5 days, 48 weeks per year) is 240 Cycles.

Laptops are optimised for disconnected use - so warnings kick in when a batteries performance falls below what are often seen as acceptable parameters for disconnected use.    But if your view is that it gives you time to save and shut down in a power outage - then these battery warnings are irrelevant unless a power outage doesn't give you this window.

I guess what it depends upon is why you need a device with a battery - is it for redundancy - when the power fails - or is it for disconnected use.

For me, I try to ensure my work device is capable of a full days use (unless I jump into a power use mode which really draws on the battery) without mid-day charging.   I have a 12 hour battery - but if I am running 1 or more Virtual Machines, or doing heavy work I often need to plug in a charger before a full workday is out.    If my work load is lighter, or focused differently I can sometimes last 2-3 days without charging.

My heavy work use however, would most likely be a lighter load than dedicated 3d gaming unless its the occasions when I have two different VM's running.

But do you need to consider replacing the battery?    If you use it plugged in 95% of the time, and only consider the battery as a backup in an outage to let you save - well if it gives you 30 mins + - then no you don't need to replace it.    But if you use it on the road or on battery and are getting less than an hour or two (if its a modern battery designed for 6-12 hours use) then yes you do need to replace it.

Another thing to note with laptops.   If you take out the battery - can you still use it when plugged in to power?   

If you are not concerned about battery use, and don't care about immediate loss of function in a power outage - then you don't need to replace a battery on a device permanently connected to power.   

I haven't seen a laptop yet that wont function with a dead battery as long as they are connected to power.