Q. I unplugged my laptop and sat with it on my lap for a good 2 hours today...I noticed just barely that my battery was really low and the "critical battery" light was flashing. I plugged it in, but the light didn't stop blinking. This happened to me once before and so I waited until it was fully charged and ran the battery out again and it corrected itself. I've done this technique twice now and it's not corrected the problem. It's annoying me because I keep noticing the blinking light. I've tried taking the battery out and that stops the blinking for a minute or two, but then it starts again...same when I put the battery back in. Tonight I will shut the computer down and see if that fixes it. Any suggestions?
Solution
Sounds like your battery is suffering from the memory effect
To quote...
Almost anyone who uses rechargeable batteries has heard of the memory effect problem.
For those who have not heard of this problem it is commonly believed that when rechargeable batteries are not fully discharged between charge cycles that they remember the shortened cycle and are thus reduced in capacity (length of use per charge).
Little known facts:
* 'Memory Effect' is the common term used to replace the more accurate term 'Voltage Depression.'
* Voltage Depression is more a problem with incorrect charging than a battery problem.
* Voltage Depression does not necessarily permanently damage a battery. It can most likely be corrected by fully charging and discharging the battery.
* Voltage Depression ('Memory Effect') is often incorrectly used to explain low battery capacity that should be attributed to other problems, such as inadequate charging, overcharge, or exposure to high temperatures.
* Voltage Depression can be affected by the discharge rate of a battery. Generally speaking, the depth of discharge will be less on discharges at the higher rates. This increases the capacity loss as less of the active material in the battery is cycled.
...
Suggestions. Buy a new battery or if still under warranty contact your manufacturer.
If it's not under warranty and you are adventurous you could try the old tester light experiment... it's not hard but you need a bit of knowledge.
What you do is you find an old current tester, like an electrician would use to see if an outlet was working. I said 'old' because you want one with an little incandescent bulb (they use more electricity). Then you take the tester and connect it to the terminals of your batter (laying them on and taping in place) and leaving it to sit until the bulb doesn't come on anymore.
As I said it's an old fix and doesn't always work, your battery could be shot. But I have known it to work a few times.
But in the long run if you are going to keep this laptop, drop the $ on a new battery, you will be much happier.
Sources: http://www.zbattery.com/Battery-Memory-Effect
