Macbook 2009 battery issue

Hello forum,

I own a 2009 macbook (MB881 model) and while my battery is fully charged, the laptop is only able to be on for about 20 minutes before it shuts off-and no, my battery indicator does not go from 100% to 0% in 20 min--it just shuts off even though the OS tells me that i have 90% charge left after 20 min.

Will this problem be fixed by purchasing a new battery? And if so, where and how much does a new battery cost

 

Hold on to option and click on your battery indicator, what is the condition of the battery?

I don't really have enough information to narrow down the problem. The problem is difficult to characterize because its symptoms suggests more common causes of system failure such as bad RAM, improperly seated RAM, improperly seated hard drive, bad software install, bad battery, bad AC adapter, corrupted PRAM, corrupted NVRAM. All of the situations listed are possible.

 

I checked the battery status in the system profile, and it said my battery condition needs to be checked. I guess this is a clear sign that my battery of 1 year old is fudged.

Any idea how much a new battery costs?

 

I think apple sells them around $100 - $129

 

I would download and install iStat Pro, it is a widget that will let you see details about your battery as well as other aspects of your system. It will let you see your battery health, number of cycles, and current charge. That should give you an indication of your battery status. From what I have heard the apple batteries are good for about 300 cycles. Do you have a unibody macbook or white macbook?

 

UPDATE: I went to the apple store to explain my problem and they will fix it for free since battery is fudged before it reached 300 cycles. BTW. my mac is out of warranty. This is my first macbook, and i am VERY impressed with Apple's warranty policy. You just won't find this level of support from PC vendors.