Laptops, although they are often used stationary, are mobile technology, and if it comes to mobility, it necessarily implies the presence of problems with the device’s operating time without recharging. Unfortunately, technology today has not yet gone so far as to produce portable batteries capable of supporting the laptop’s battery life for several days and weeks, and modern batteries can provide only a couple of hours of intensive work without recharging (and even when the resource is not yet worked out). This article will discuss how to find out how worn out the laptop battery is, as well as how to check its performance.
How to check laptop battery?
If the user notices problems recharging the laptop, this may not always mean that it is the battery. In this case, the problems may look as follows:
- The battery does not charge (the device does not seem to “see” the charging connected to it)
- The charge runs out too fast
- The laptop is unable to work autonomously (it only works when connected to the mains)
If there are problems with charging in general, you should first eliminate the most common causes, and check the voltage in the mains and the integrity of the cord.
Advice! If there is a suitable charger from another laptop, you can try to connect it and find out if the reason lies in the power supply.
The cause of the malfunction may also be a malfunction of the device drivers. As you know, any "hardware" of a computer is controlled using special software, and if violations occur in its operation, this also affects the operation of the part itself. Power problems can also lie in damage to the connectors and plugs of the charger, or the input for it in the laptop. In addition, over time, oxidation may appear on the battery terminals, interfering with the normal functioning of the device. A short circuit in the network can also lead to battery failure.
Reference! An ordinary battery on a modern laptop can withstand about 800 charge cycles on average. Experts recommend replacing this element at least once every two years.
Many users, who often use a laptop as a PC, simply remove the battery from it, so as not to use it in vain. This helps protect her from premature wear. In addition, it helps to use the energy-saving mode and the implementation of a full cycle of charging - discharging.
Whatever the nature of the problem, most users who encounter them prefer to entrust the matter to specialists and immediately take the laptop to a service center, however, in some cases it can turn out to fix problems with work on their own, and the correct procedure can help in this battery testing.
How to check the battery for wear?
To check the laptop battery there are a large number of specialized software. Most of these programs are free and are freely available on the Internet. Among the most popular utilities are:
- Batterycare
- Battery eater
- Battery optimizer
Using the BatteryCare program, the user can run a battery diagnostics and regularly monitor it. The program weighs a little, is easy to use and actually does not affect the operation of the OS. Using this utility, you can see not only the percentage of battery wear during general use, but also see the number of completed cycles of a full charge, as well as information about the date of its calibration. In addition, the program will give the user some tips to reduce the intensity of electricity consumption by a laptop.
How to check the battery for performance?
Using the Battery Eater downloaded from the official source, the user will also be able to test the state of the battery and find out the actual capacity indicator set by the manufacturer. This program is useful for those who buy a used device, as it will help in just a couple of minutes to predict the remaining life of the power source.
As for the Battery Optimizer, with its help you can not only test, but also optimize the work of an autonomous power source. After a simple diagnosis, the utility will offer to optimize some power settings in order to increase battery life. If for some reason the new settings do not suit the user, he will always be able to return to the previous ones, since all actions and changes are recorded in the user profile of the application. Like both previous programs, one is pretty easy to use.
If the user is an ardent opponent of installing third-party software, then there is a way to check the battery’s performance through the command line. To implement it, you must perform the following algorithm of actions:
- Run the command line (in Windows 7 it is available in the "start" menu, and in Windows 8 - when you press Win + r and enter the command "cmd")
- Enter the following command (without quotes): "powercfg energy"
- Press enter
- Wait until the system generates a report (usually takes no more than a minute)
- After the screen displays the path where the report will be placed, go to the specified folder and copy the finished report to the desktop.
- In the file opened from the desktop, find the lines “Estimated capacity” and “Last full charge”.
Based on these two parameters, we can draw conclusions about the wear and tear of the battery. The design capacity is the value of the “base” capacity set by the manufacturer. The more the last full charge differs from it, the, as a rule, the situation with the battery is worse. In order to reflect the current level of wear, it is necessary to subtract the indicator of the last full charge from the indicator of the calculated capacity, and then divide the resulting number by the indicator of the calculated capacity. The result obtained (as a rule, it is less than unity) is multiplied by one hundred - this will be the percentage of wear.
How to check with a multimeter?
If the user has a sufficient level of knowledge in the field of electronics, it is not difficult for him to check the laptop battery with a multimeter. The algorithm of actions for this type of verification is as follows:
- Turn off the laptop and remove the battery (a plastic card or knife may be required)
- Set the multimeter to DC mode
- Sequentially check the voltage in the circuit
- The voltage parameter should be equal to the number of battery cells times 3.7
In this case, a lower value of the voltage parameter indicates wear.
Reference! If the user does not have the necessary technical skills and experience working with it, he is not recommended to remove the battery himself, and it is better to resort to the above-described software methods or to the help of specialists.
Unfortunately, standard Windows tools only report battery problems when replacing them becomes an urgent matter. In order for the laptop to always work comfortably and without problems with fast discharge, it is recommended to monitor the battery status using the above and other special software.
In most cases, a quick discharge of the battery becomes visible without third-party utilities, and if the user notices this with his device, it means that he needs to think about replacing the battery with a new one.
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