Battery Error Message on Laptop

williacg

Hi all,

I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me out with a problem that I've been experiencing (please bear with me, I'm not the brightest spark in the box when it comes to technology).

Twice today I have had the following error message appear on my laptop:-

"You should change your battery or switch to outlet power or you might lose your work"

Quite some time after receiving the second message, my laptop (Dell D630c) switched off, but came back on when I closed the laptop and opened it again.

Can anyone offer any advice as to why this is occurring, as I use the laptop with the adaptor plugged in anyway, so unsure what to do if it should happen again.

Many thanks for any advice.

Williacg

bsod

poor or dusty/dirty power connection/socket/connector, connector not plugged in fully, or faulty power supply or lead,

check to see if the light is on next time, if it's the power supply, pulling and re-seating the power lead out of the power supply brick sometimes cures it temporarily

paddyrg

Basically it's the computer trying to protect your work/files because it's not getting mains power to keep the battery topped up.

Strider590

Sounds like you power jack connector is broken, thus not charging the battery, which then slowly runs down until the laptop has to shut down to stop you losing files OR until the power connector gets wiggled and it all springs back into life for a few minutes.

Power jacks are a common failure on laptops, because people think it's ok to use them on soft surfaces where they not only overheat, but the power connector gets twisted/bent.

williacg

Thanks everyone for your much appreciated advice,

As suggested, I have given the adapter a good dry wipe down to ensure no build up of dust, and noticed that the cable did indeed need 'jiggling' before the power resumed.

I admit that I have been working on a soft surface for a while, and that the laptop does become quite heated, so I have just ordered a canned air compressor, and also have been looking at some laptop cooling pads, as I don't yet have an office desk.

Do you have any tips on how best to use the air compressor, and are there any other safeguards that I can take to protect my laptop that will not be too challenging for a technophobe?

Many thanks for all of your help.

Williacg

bsod

power connectors fail because they can suffer physical wear, get pulled at, tugged at, tripped over and fill with dust (which you can blow it out with lung power), nothing to do with heat and no need for aerosols or cooling trays.

if there is any dust in the vent, an aerosol stuffed in the vent will blow it inwards, not out

if the connector is not pushed fully home, even by a mm, then it may appear in, but not be supplying power. set the power saving to dim on battery, and hibernate at 50% and you are more likely to notice this or prevent it before you get a battery is running out message

if the internal connector gets damaged, they can usually be replaced very easily and cheaply with nothing but a screwdriver

the best way to stop it becoming hot, is to choose appropriate power saving settings, and make sure the vents, bottom left and back left aren't blocked, easily done if placed on a lap.

williacg

bsod wrote: »

power connectors fail because they can suffer physical wear, get pulled at, tugged at, tripped over and fill with dust (which you can blow it out with lung power), nothing to do with heat and no need for aerosols or cooling trays.

if there is any dust in the vent, an aerosol stuffed in the vent will blow it inwards, not out

if the connector is not pushed fully home, even by a mm, then it may appear in, but not be supplying power. set the power saving to dim on battery, and hibernate at 50% and you are more likely to notice this or prevent it before you get a battery is running out message

if the internal connector gets damaged, they can usually be replaced very easily and cheaply with nothing but a screwdriver

the best way to stop it becoming hot, is to choose appropriate power saving settings, and make sure the vents, bottom left and back left aren't blocked, easily done if placed on a lap.

Hi BSOD,

Many thanks for all of your helpful advice. With regards to power saving settings, can you give me instructions on how to change them?

Many thanks.

Williacg

bsod

left or right click the battery/power icon on the taskbar, or look in control panel

williacg

bsod wrote: »

left or right click the battery/power icon on the taskbar, or look in control panel

Many thanks.

Wonderlands

My computer's rly good at this kind of thing. Your battery may heat up, in my case I use a heat removal gadget.