how do i measure my battery capacity?

[frdchang]

hello,

how do i measure my battery capacity? (is there a software that can do it?)

i basically want to know how many mAh are on my battery.

thanks,
fred

[pphilipko]

hello,

how do i measure my battery capacity? (is there a software that can do it?)

i basically want to know how many mAh are on my battery.

thanks,
fred

Original battery capacity? It's located on the battery itself. If you want to know the current capacity, just look in 'battery information' on the power manager program.

[ThinkPad]

I dont know about capacity, but you can check the charge cycles under thinkpad configuration.
Edit-- that also tells you the battery capacity.

[monkey243]

If your TP is T43 series,you can click on the battery picture on the right of taskbar.Launch power managerment,select battery information.You can see any information that you want to know,ect capacity.
Other models, click the battery picture on the right of taskbar,click battery information,it will show you all the information.

[bevross]

Well, does anyone know what the numbers mean? My T42 battery (the smaller one) will be 1 year old in about a month and shows:

remaining/full charge capacity: 36.48wh; design capacity=47.52; 140 charge cycles. I've noticed less longevity & wonder whether going for a new battery right now would be worth it.

[brainpicker]

remaining/full charge capacity: 36.48wh; design capacity=47.52; 140 charge cycles. I've noticed less longevity & wonder whether going for a new battery right now would be worth it.

That's about 75% of original and is still a good battery. Do you run your battery down to UNDER 3% before charging at least once a month? If not, to get the TRUE condition I found you have to TWICE remove all suspend and hibernate possibilities (and alarms) and let it run completely down to nothing. Twice. After that the condition/capacity jumps up and is a better indication of true condition. I just did that on a two year old T40 battery that was RED at about 27 of 47 when I got it and is now GREEN at 34 of 47. Even new battteries don't perform to their capability until they are cycled a few times.

Yak

[bevross]

Well, I don't do this --

... remove all suspend and hibernate possibilities (and alarms) ...

But I do this regularly about ONCE per: month (granted popups re: Recharge now! are a pain)

.. let it run completely down to nothing. Twice.

I suppose 77% after about a year isn't too bad. Let's see -- I wonder if this means where I was getting nearly 4/hrs I now get 3 (I don't actually time things 'cause I'll recharge when I take a break). Over 15 years ago, when I had 'laptops' (20 pounders -- never sat on my lap!), I even had utilities that would do battery 'drains.' From what I've read, it's not so important with Li-Ion batteries, though.