battery driver messed up
- Thread starter gib88
- Start date
Keep in mind that Batteries are known for developing a "memory." Newer batteries don't have this issue as much, but it's still a problem.
What that means is this; And this is just a hypothetical using made up units to demonstrate the point.
Your battery can hold 100 power units. As it charges, it fills said power units. So you use the battery from 100, and use 50 units. Now the battery is at 50% life. You plug it in and charge back to 100. The same thing happens over and over, and the battery has a tendency to now think that 50 is the new 0. It can hold 100 units still, but because of the many times it was plugged in before being actually at 0, it moves the "empty" marker to that spot. Basically, the battery thinks it is empty when it hits 50 even though Windows can see it has plenty of juice left.
Given everything you've said... my money is on your battery just developed a memory. I've not yet found a way to resolve this as it has something to do with the onboard power controller. Get a new battery and follow the charging instructions! New batteries are just waiting to set the empty and full markers so seriously, follow the instructions. I've replaced a few and walked away, inadvertently ruining the battery because I didn't disconnect at the proper percentage. You wouldn't think these things would be so fickle... but they are.
What that means is this; And this is just a hypothetical using made up units to demonstrate the point.
Your battery can hold 100 power units. As it charges, it fills said power units. So you use the battery from 100, and use 50 units. Now the battery is at 50% life. You plug it in and charge back to 100. The same thing happens over and over, and the battery has a tendency to now think that 50 is the new 0. It can hold 100 units still, but because of the many times it was plugged in before being actually at 0, it moves the "empty" marker to that spot. Basically, the battery thinks it is empty when it hits 50 even though Windows can see it has plenty of juice left.
Given everything you've said... my money is on your battery just developed a memory. I've not yet found a way to resolve this as it has something to do with the onboard power controller. Get a new battery and follow the charging instructions! New batteries are just waiting to set the empty and full markers so seriously, follow the instructions. I've replaced a few and walked away, inadvertently ruining the battery because I didn't disconnect at the proper percentage. You wouldn't think these things would be so fickle... but they are.
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That's true. That's why there are so many "battery calibration" apps in Android. The battery starts using some value as the new 0 and as a result, it runs out faster, while in reality you just used a smaller fraction.
Maybe there are some similar programs in Windows, although I can't vouch for their effectiveness.
That's true. That's why there are so many "battery calibration" apps in Android. The battery starts using some value as the new 0 and as a result, it runs out faster, while in reality you just used a smaller fraction.
Maybe there are some similar programs in Windows, although I can't vouch for their effectiveness.
Not that I can think of. Looking at my programs in control panel, I see a whole bunch of programs that it says were installed very recently. Microsoft OneDrive on Jan 25, Adobe Acrobat on Jan 24, etc. I know I've had Acrobat for ages, so I have no idea what it's talking about (probably updates).
iPwd said:
WOW!!! Is that by software design or a physical limitation?
I guess the trick then is to keep it unplugged all day and only let it recharge over night.
Question: if I just let it die at 50% every time, will it eventually remember to mark 'empty' at a lower point?
To be honest; I have no idea. I suspect it has something to do features that let the OS know you need to save your work. Not sure how batteries "modify" their memory, but it's a common phenomena
Uhhh... If you really look into the best practices to extend battery longevity, they're simply not practical. The "BEST" thing is charge it when it dies, unplug when full. I've read (I don't know how true this is) that charging a battery when it's full also causes damage over time. Considering the cost of batteries are around $30-$50 USD and you get a few years out of them... I just go about my business and not worry about it. If I have to replace a shitty battery in two years... it was worth the $50. That's just me though; you can find all sorts of info on proper battery care.
Nope. You have to drain it somehow. So if the laptop dies at 50%, it's not going to want to turn on. Somehow you have to get the charge lower than the 50% and consistently to get the battery to recognize it's marker is wrong. I'm sure there are plenty of people who know how to do that and can explain it. A quick Google search for "fix bad battery memory" resulted in many results, this one explaining better than I did:
Memory Effect - What it is and what you can do about it
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