770 battery charging issue

[Guest]

my 770 will only charge 3% each time i plug it in. it sat for awhile so it dropped to 0%, i started it up and got the time/date error and the reboot screen. i f1'd and tested, all is well. during this time it charged straight up to 41%. i rebooted after the test and it went all the way to windows but now wont charge again. any thougts, suggestions, solutions?

[Bruce Guttman]

Try the following:

1. Can you charge the battery on another 770? (You'll need to find somebody else with a good one)

2. Would another battery charge up fully?

3. Sometimes you can revive a questionable battery by running the computer on battery until it shuts down, recharging as far as it will allow, then running on battery to shutdown, and repeating the process a couple of times.

4. Sometimes you can revive a bad NiCd or NiMH battery (the 770 uses Lithium Ion) by putting it in the freezer for 8 hours, bringing it out, and recharging.

5. Sometimes a bad CMOS battery (the coin cell inside the memory area) will cause odd problems. The battery is cheap and easy to find. Try replacing it.

Hope this helps.

[guest]

I have a bad battery is it worth throwing it in the freezer? Could this cause the battery to leak? It sounds like an interesting idea.

[hausman]

Could this cause the battery to leak?

No. But if you're concerned, wrap it in a plastic bag first.

[Pop45398]

Bruce,

I suppose if the battery is inoperable there would be little to lose but fully (or deep) discharging a Li-Ion battery is a BAD thing as a general rule. It's FAR less destructive to Li-Ion batteries to discharge 10% and recharge ten times than it is to discharge 100% and recharge one time. This is the opposite case as with other types of rechargeable cells. I suspect this is why many of these batteries don't see the service life we might expect.