Small annoyance with Compaq 615 and/or other Win7/Vista Laptops

So, Last night I was surprised to find a notification in my laptop that my battery needs replacement! So,at first I was rather concerned, because after all it’s a relatively new laptop,so why the battery should warrant replacement 8-9 months after its manufacturing date. That’s why I downloaded the good ol’ sp41862 (the HP battery tester for the XP)… Good news,the battery is Good, bad news, the Windows battery meter had for some reason become uncalibrated…
Good news,the remedy is astoundingly simple,nay,DUMB!

You just start Windows, disconnect the AC and use the computer till your battery dies and your computer shuts down and/or hibernates. Plug the AC back on,turn the laptop on and Presto! The battery meter should be calibrated and charging. Specifically on the Compaq 615, you should just wait till the Red/White led near the adapter plug turns off, start the HP battery tester and if it confirms that the battery level is 100% as the in-built Win Meter,your battery is good and you shouldn’t get any shocks anytime soon!

Quick piece of advice though- IF you keep getting a quickly discharging battery warning (ie battery life for a battery at 100% to be <50mins the problem might actually be with the battery and not in the meter. In that case ACT NOW and go to your authorized tech center and get an replacement. The good thing is that if the machine is younger than 12 months you should be eligible for a free replacement battery.

bk109 out