Admit your ignorance - things you've only just realised/learned

[ColinJ]

Some people just remove the battery whilst leaving it plugged in. Others let you cap the charge at 80% or have a powered mode that keeps the battery at 50%.

It does seem to be still doing the capping, though on this Lenovo it is at 60%. Now it is doing it at 60% of the 25Wh though, rather than 60% of 46 Wh!

As long as it doesn't give up altogether I will be okay.

I definitely don't want to leave the power supply connected when I am not around though - I have seen too many scary videos of lithium battery fires!

 

[lazybloke]

(Assuming that my laptop is reporting battery status correctly...)

Apparently, laptop batteries can lose nearly 50% of their capacity overnight! I had been monitoring the state of mine and was very pleased that it still had a capacity of 44.5 Wh (design capacity 46 Wh) after 7.5 years of use. That was probably testament to my careful charging policy of keeping it charged to between 20% and 60%, only fully charging when I would be away from mains power for extended periods.

Well, last night it suddenly reported a critical error, saying that the battery was faulty and now only had a capacity of 25 Wh!

Obviously, that is probably true but I can't help wondering whether there might be something buried deep in the system software to get long-term users to scrap their old batteries and buy new ones, or upgrade their old laptops... Cynical - moi?!

I very rarely run the laptop on battery power so I will probably try to continue using it with the old battery for a while. As long as enough charge is stored to let the laptop 'sleep' for a few days after use then that would do me. I like being able to just open the lid and carry on - I don't want to have to hibernate or power-down the device every time after using it.

Not quite the same, but Apple had batterygate....



Your battery probably has a dead cell or cells. A replacement battery might be worth a try, but i'd avoid the cheap 'no name' ones.

 

[ColinJ]

Your battery probably has a dead cell or cells. A replacement battery might be worth a try, but i'd avoid the cheap 'no name' ones.

Yes, I was just looking...

Ones that probably come direct from China, though the websites look like they are British. (It doesn't take 14 days to ship a battery in the UK!) Prices £25-40.

UK site prices can be double that but maybe more chance of getting what you think you are getting!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I would avoid batteries from unknown companies

a lot of them have very good fake stickers on them and what is inside could be anything
try to get genuine ones or ones from a well know company

I have seen a lot of things about fires from lithium batteries
but i have been working with laptops and their batteries for many years - including in schools who have dozens of them and they are often left plugged in all night - and even all weekend
and even right through school holidays unless the school has a dedicated IT Technician who is willing to go round and switch them all off!!

and yet I have never yet seen one catch fire!
and the batteries still last a reasonable amount of time in spite of being abused according to the normal wisdom!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Jury trials in criminal cases in Scotland have 15 members. Makes much more sense to have an odd number.

 

[ColinJ]

Jury trials in criminal cases in Scotland have 15 members. Makes much more sense to have an odd number.

Maybe, but I wouldn't say that an 8:7 verdict really represents 'guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt'!

 

[Beebo]

Jury trials in criminal cases in Scotland have 15 members. Makes much more sense to have an odd number.

Not really because it isn’t done on a simple majority.
In England anything these than 10-2 is usually dismissed.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Not really because it isn’t done on a simple majority.
In England anything these than 10-2 is usually dismissed.

In Scotland a simple majority is sufficient.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Eddy Merckx has a station named after him on the Brussels metro. Just next to one named after the renaissance scholar Erasmus.

 

[T4tomo]

Eddy Merckx has a station named after him on the Brussels metro. Just next to one named after the renaissance scholar Erasmus.

View attachment 726916

I imagine there a few things named after him in Belgium, as well as a section of cobbles just over the border in northern France

 

[ColinJ]

I just found out how mighty the Atlas mountain range in Africa is. I didn't realise that the highest peaks almost match those in the Alps!

Alps: Mont Blanc, 4,809 m

Atlas mountains: Toubkal, 4,167 m

 

[Beebo]

I just found out how mighty the Atlas mountain range in Africa is. I didn't realise that the highest peaks almost match those in the Alps!

Alps: Mont Blanc, 4,809 m

Atlas mountains: Toubkal, 4,167 m

And for comparison Everest base camp is higher than Mont Blanc.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

In Scotland a simple majority is sufficient.

Thanks, I didn't actually know that when I posted my post. Interesting the ways in which legal systems differ either side of the border.

 

[ColinJ]

(Assuming that my laptop is reporting battery status correctly...)

Apparently, laptop batteries can lose nearly 50% of their capacity overnight! I had been monitoring the state of mine and was very pleased that it still had a capacity of 44.5 Wh (design capacity 46 Wh) after 7.5 years of use. That was probably testament to my careful charging policy of keeping it charged to between 20% and 60%, only fully charging when I would be away from mains power for extended periods.

Well, last night it suddenly reported a critical error, saying that the battery was faulty and now only had a capacity of 25 Wh!

Obviously, that is probably true but I can't help wondering whether there might be something buried deep in the system software to get long-term users to scrap their old batteries and buy new ones, or upgrade their old laptops... Cynical - moi?!

I very rarely run the laptop on battery power so I will probably try to continue using it with the old battery for a while. As long as enough charge is stored to let the laptop 'sleep' for a few days after use then that would do me. I like being able to just open the lid and carry on - I don't want to have to hibernate or power-down the device every time after using it.

Hmm...

I disabled battery conservation mode and charged the battery to its new max and discharged it again a couple of times and it is now reporting a capacity of 41.4 Wh!

I am not sure if the battery actually IS faulty or whether the battery monitoring itself is playing up.

I'll charge and discharge the battery another few times and see what happens.

I might remove the bottom panel of the laptop and check the battery for any signs of swelling.

 

[albion]

Quora.com has a very high Indian usage, near matching that of the USA.
A bit if a chicken and egg syndrome.

The answers all tend towards gibberish, at least for the English version. I can barely recall a time I clicked and actualky found it of any use.