Resetting my laptop's battery?

Hi all,

I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Cheers & thanks from Amsterdam,

Bram

Well, it's not so good as it sounds.
Resetting battery is nothing more than maximal battery discharge
and after that maximal charge. Sometimes this can help, mainly
if your laptop battery hasn't been fully discharged for a long time.
You can do this without any additional software, just turn off
suspending on critical battery level and let your laptop to discharge
the battery.

cheers,

Leszek


Uzytkownik "Bram Bos" <> napisal w wiadomosci
news: om...
> Hi all,
>
> I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
> with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
> been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
> a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?
>
> Cheers & thanks from Amsterdam,
>
> Bram

Whereas On 10 Oct 2003 05:34:02 -0700, (Bram Bos)
scribbled:
, I thus relpy:
>Hi all,
>
>I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
>with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
>been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
>a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?
>
>Cheers & thanks from Amsterdam,
>
>Bram

http://sweb.cz/Frantisek.Rysanek/battery.html

See if that works.
--
Gary J. Tait . Email is at yahoo.com ; ID:classicsat

"Bram Bos" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> Hi all,
>
> I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
> with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
> been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
> a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?
>
IME batteries dont last that long, especially if not maintained properly.
Buy another one is probably best thing to do.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

"Tumbleweed" <> wrote:

>"Bram Bos" <> wrote in message

>> I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
>> with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
>> been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
>> a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?

>IME batteries dont last that long, especially if not maintained properly.
>Buy another one is probably best thing to do.

*Not* IME direct, since I've never had a laptop, but from what has
been posted over the years here AIUI laptop batteries tend to get
tired and give up their life after a couple-three years. Given that
the OP's laptop was second-hand, and unless he knew it had a
new/recent battery replacement, it could very well just need a new
battery.

The price you pay for buying another person's computer, or anything
second-handed, is that you inherit whatever problems made it a
candidate for sale. If you know the seller, fine. Buying blind,
caveat emptor, as always, applies.
--
OJ III
[Email sent to Yahoo addy is burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast]

Bram Bos <> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I've just bought a second hand Dell Latitude CPi laptop,
> with a battery that gives up after a very short time. I've
> been told that there are programs out there that can "reset"
> a battery. How does it work? Can anyone shed some light on this?

I'm pretty sure the utility that Dell offered for "recalibrating"
batteries was only for some models older than the CPi. Dell
batteries are only warrantied for one year, although they will
sometimes last a good deal longer before they fail to hold a charge.

Most likely, you just need a new battery, although it could be a
problem with the connectors or the motherboard.

--
jamie ()

"There's a seeker born every minute."

In comp.sys.laptops, Ogden Johnson III <> wasted
keystrokes on the following:

>"Tumbleweed" <> wrote:

>The price you pay for buying another person's computer, or anything
>second-handed, is that you inherit whatever problems made it a
>candidate for sale. If you know the seller, fine. Buying blind,
>caveat emptor, as always, applies.

I knew beforehand that the battery didn't perform too well anymore and
the price was lowered accordingly. I was just curious about the
existence of this reset-functionality, but I do expect I'll have to
buy a new battery for on-the-road (though I'll mostly have the laptop
plugged into the mains).


--

Remove internal organs to send me spam.
But why bother? I don't check this account anyway.

There is no magic program to reset a bad battery, when it's bad, it's bad, period.

--


----------------------------------------------------------------
"Bram" <> wrote in message news:...
> In comp.sys.laptops, Ogden Johnson III <> wasted
> keystrokes on the following:
>
> >"Tumbleweed" <> wrote:
>
> >The price you pay for buying another person's computer, or anything
> >second-handed, is that you inherit whatever problems made it a
> >candidate for sale. If you know the seller, fine. Buying blind,
> >caveat emptor, as always, applies.
>
> I knew beforehand that the battery didn't perform too well anymore and
> the price was lowered accordingly. I was just curious about the
> existence of this reset-functionality, but I do expect I'll have to
> buy a new battery for on-the-road (though I'll mostly have the laptop
> plugged into the mains).
>
>
> --
>
> Remove internal organs to send me spam.
> But why bother? I don't check this account anyway.

"David B." wrote:
>
> There is no magic program to reset a bad battery, when it's bad, it's bad, period.

Hallelujah! Somebody with a brain!

Larry

David B. wrote:
> There is no magic program to reset a bad battery, when it's bad, it's bad, period.
>


While I agree with what you say, it might give one the wrong impression.

Sometimes GOOD batteries get out of sync with the battery gauge chip and
ACT like they're bad.
That CAN be fixed by resetting. I've done it. I know other people
who've done it.

Send me some "bad" batteries that fit HP660LX and Jornada 690.
I don't think they're smart, I just need some plastic to re-cell.
The duct tape keeps coming off ;-)
mike


--
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
laptops and parts Test Equipment
4in/400Wout ham linear amp.
Honda CB-125S
400cc Dirt Bike 2003 miles $550
Police Scanner, Color LCD overhead projector
Tek 2465 $800, ham radio, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/