Laptop keeps shutting down

ioscorpio

My laptop has been playimg up sine I started using it again about a week ago, but know it keeps critically low battery and then shuts down even know I have it connected to the mains??? Is the battery knackered???

Aiadi

Is it a Medion by any chance?

Lord_Chris

A few quick solutions in order of priority for ya:

1) if its on warantee TAKE IT BACK asap

2) remove hte battery and try connecting to the mains (this won't work on all laptops, but some good makes ie sony vaio have a circuit that bypasses the battery when plugged in)

3) try charging your battery overnight, dont turn it on or anything, just let it charge

4) if this fails, try draining your battery right down and then recharging

5) if your battery has been in extreme cold/heat for a long period of time, its probably f***ed,

If you need to buy a new battery i would recommend buying one from the manufacturer.. compatibles can be really crap. Having said that, my Sony Vaio has been running on a compatible battery from Japan which i got for £50 off ebay.. i refuse to pay a quarter (£250) of the laptops original value just for a battery :P

Quincy_3

Lord_Chris wrote:

3) try charging your battery overnight, dont turn it on or anything, just let it charge

I wouldnt reccomend this because of Battery leakage and Fire hazard and also a trickle charge will also lead to the cells drying out even more.

:beer:

Lord_Chris

another thing, i remember on my cousins very old laptop the metal connectors became ... crap... over time, and caused problems with the battery, you might want to try cleaning it very carefully (the metal pins on the battery)

dip a cotton bud in white spirit, and just wipe the pins lightly. let it dry and try the battery.

I know this worked for my old Nokia phone aswell :P

ioscorpio

It's a Compaq Armada M700 approx 2001
It still keeps shutting down after a couple of minutes
I have taken the battery off to see if it will work just off the mains, but it still keeps shutting down, although it's now been working for about 5 mins without shutting down.

espresso

Sounds like the battery is past it's useful life and this could easily be checked with a multimeter. Original Compac for £133 or generic for £88 here but keep looking!

:eek:

ioscorpio

It's still going for the last hour just off the mains, I don't use it anymore off the battery since I stopped working, so I don't think I'll be buying another battery at £135
It shut down again but screen went black and it said there was a problem with either hardware or software??? and then re-started???