acer laptop battery life?

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ABEL

An Angel In Devil's Shoes
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i've got an acer aspire 5100 laptop computer that i bought about a year and a half ago.
when i first got it the battery would last about an hour and a half.
now when the battery is fully charged it only lasts about 30 minutes.
i haven't changed any settings.
anything i can do to make it last longer or do i just need to get a new battery?
i'd rather not go out and spend $150 for a new battery if i don't have to. :angry:
 
The best way to get maximum life is to drain the battery fully as much as possible. If you're constantly using battery for only half an hour or so and then charging it again, eventually it re-calibrates the battery and you will get less and less use. This is especially important with a new battery. The first several times you use it you want to totally drain it and totally charge it.

Depending on how you use the battery and how often you use it, a year and a half isn't surprising.
 
Funnily enuff....this last few weeks....i have noticed my Acer aptop now lasts about half the time it did originally (now about 1hr battery life). It is just over a year old. Its comforting to know I am not alone on this.
 
I use HPs and they are also notorious for really shitty battery life. However, I got used to just using an adapter b/c my first laptop was 4 years old when I got it and lasted 2 minutes. A new battery would have cost more than I paid for the computer.
 
i just bought a used acer laptop battery on ebay. :hyper:
i won it for $26 + shipping, so $36.
still a lot better than paying $150+ for a new one.
a used laptop battery shouldn't hurt my laptop computer should it?
the guy said the battery was in good condition, he just got another computer.
 
You shouldn't have gone with a used battery since you have no idea how long that one lasts. Always better to buy new batteries, methinks.
And no, it won't hurt your computer as long as it's the same model and series number.
 
Nope, won't hurt it at all as long as the models match. Like Pla says, you just take a gamble on how well the previous person treated the battery and whether it's calibrated for maximum life.
 
well the person assured that the battery was in good condition, guess i'll just have to find out when i get the battery.
i know i took a gamble but i figured any battery has got to be better than mine that only lasts 30 minutes or less these days.
and yes the model #'s match up, i checked that part first.
i just really couldn't afford a new one at the moment.
 
I was talking to a pal last night, (they have a dell inspiron laptop)and they left their power supply at work, yet the battery went on for about 3 1/2 hrs. Thought that was pretty impressive.
I beleive the Acer battery managment software actually uses the battery power up quicker, so best to disable it!
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
acer sucks. be careful of over-heating destroying your hard drive.

My acer laptop is still going strong after 3-4 years - same for others I know. Maybe the hard drive was destroyed by something else.
 
Liesje said:
The best way to get maximum life is to drain the battery fully as much as possible. If you're constantly using battery for only half an hour or so and then charging it again, eventually it re-calibrates the battery and you will get less and less use. This is especially important with a new battery. The first several times you use it you want to totally drain it and totally charge it.

Depending on how you use the battery and how often you use it, a year and a half isn't surprising.

I've read shallow discharges are preferable for Li-Ion on many sites:
http://www.buchmann.ca/Chap10-page6.asp

The Li-ion batteries prefer a shallow discharge. Partial discharges produce less wear than a full discharge and the capacity loss per cycle is reduced. A periodic full discharge is not required because the lithium-based battery has no memory. A full cycle constitutes a discharge to 3V/cell. When specifying the number of cycles a lithium-based battery can endure, manufacturers commonly use an 80 percent depth of discharge. This method resembles a reasonably accurate field simulation. It also achieves a higher cycle count than doing full discharges.
 
Newer electronics will probably have a higher failure rate because the EU outlawed lead soldering 1-2 years ago. The alternative soldering causes something called tin whiskers, which can short out a circuit board.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/50947

Tin whiskers are an even bigger problem now because the alternative to tin solder isn't a pretty one: lead. Lead is not as susceptible to the whisker effect, but now that lead has been widely outlawed (in Europe it was phased out in 2006), we're seeing the problem far more than before. That will only get worse as lead is completely eliminated in the U.S.

The solution? For now, nothing. There's no known alternative to lead or tin solder, and since the problem takes months or years to crop up, the issue is largely being ignored. That could change in a couple of years, when failure rates begin to skyrocket with no advance warning. Is your computer crashing for no apparent reason? This might be why.
 
Since i originally replied on this thread...my Acer battery now gives me 15-20 mins without being plugged in. Its only 14 months old. Al be contacting Acer UK and DEMANDING a replacement battery under the sale of goods act!
 
I contacted Acer regarding the problem. They replied...the battery only comes with a 6 month consumable warranty. So people, if thats true....avoid buying Acer laptops coz they effectivley become Desktop PCs before you know it!
 
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