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    640m/e1405 battery dying?!?!

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by ruiyuan, Nov 17, 2006.

  1. ruiyuan

    ruiyuan Newbie

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    i have a 640m that i've used for school work since may 2006. i used to get 4 hours of battery life and till last week, around 3hours and 40mins on a full charge, with WiFi turned on.

    However, recently, the battery life on a full charge suddenly dropped to 2 horus and 30mins on a full charge, with WiFi turned on. the battery health meter on the battery is showing 4 lights (time to change a battery)

    i don't think it is possible that the battery completed 500 charge cycle as i seldom run the laptop on battery.

    a faulty battery?
     
    ruiyuan, Nov 17, 2006
    #1
  2. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    try running it down to 3-5% and then charging it back up again

    it may just need to be recalibrated
     
    drumfu, Nov 17, 2006
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  3. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Also, check out Battery Eater Pro. I can provide details on a battery (like max charge, original design capacity, and wear and tear %).
     
    Greg, Nov 17, 2006
    #3
  4. ruiyuan

    ruiyuan Newbie

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    i have tried recalibrating the battery.. but it doesn't seem to work.

    results below.

    Device Name DELL C95536
    Manufacture SMP
    Serial #
    Unique ID 1950SMPDELL C95536
    Chemistry Lithium Ion
    Temperature Termal Control Not Present
    Designed Capacity 53280mWh (4933 mAh)
    Full Charged Capacity 34332mWh (3179 mAh)
    Designed Voltage 10.8V
    Current Voltage 11.639V
    Manufacture Date 0/0/0
    Cycles Count 0
    Cells count 3
    Force charge support Not Supported
    Force discharge support Not Supported
    *****

    weird. only 3 cells detected. i'm using the 6 cell battery...

    can someone using the same 6 cell battery check too.. thanks =D
     
    ruiyuan, Nov 17, 2006
    #4
  5. PaulyRags

    PaulyRags Notebook Guru

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    This may be a stupid question, but where is this button some people talk about to check how many lights their battery has left? Is this only available on certain batteries? I also have the 640m, but the 9-cell battery, does this make a difference? Just for information purposes, I have had my 640m since the end of August 2006, and I am still consistently getting around 5-6 hours, 7-8 with lowest settings.

    Thanks in advance for your replies,

    PaulyRags

    640M l CORE DUO T2500 l 1 GB RAM l 9 CELL BATTERY
     
    PaulyRags, Nov 17, 2006
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  6. ruiyuan

    ruiyuan Newbie

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    i'm not sure if its only on certain models. but on my 640m, it is the same button on the battery which allows users to check the remaining battery life without powering up the computer.
     
    ruiyuan, Nov 17, 2006
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  7. PaulyRags

    PaulyRags Notebook Guru

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    Yeah, I definitely do not have that button...

    Well, you should maybe contact Dell Support and ask them for a new battery, 'cause that doesn't seem right with yours at all.....defective battery maybe?
     
    PaulyRags, Nov 17, 2006
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  8. ruiyuan

    ruiyuan Newbie

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    hmmm... i think maybe its the problem with the number of cells detected...

    i experienced a sudden decrease in battery life over a few days.. weird.
     
    ruiyuan, Nov 17, 2006
    #8