Hardware - Toshiba laptop battery problems

Author

Toshiba laptop battery problems

Joelacrane

2004-11-02, 7:30 pm

Ok, i bought this Toshiba Tecra 8000 off ebay and it had a bad battery, so i replaced it with a new one. The new one charged up, dishcarged itself over the course of about a week, and then it refused to charge past 3 percent.

So i got ANOTHER battery, and it came charged to 35 percent. I left the laptop sitting for awhile plugged in and it didn't even start to charge. Windows (98) shows the charging icon, but then in the battery details it says Online, Discharging.

Ok, whats going on?

vincentnl

2004-11-03, 2:19 am

Sounds like a bad buy to me.

If second hand, your money bought a duff.
If new, send it back or check the small prints.

Joelacrane

2004-11-03, 12:52 pm

Its a refurbished product.

vincentnl

2004-11-03, 10:43 pm

I bought second hand laptops to start with before going into buying brand new.
It was a learning thing.

First thing any pc techie learns is this, if you have a problem the most common trobleshooting nuances cannot solve, you see a fee charging expert many of whom will happily charge a lot less than probably the cost of a brand new battery or two.

I think you may have learned an expensive lesson yourself - never to buy what you have not seen for yourself unless it has come from a reputable source ideally that being from a company wanting to replace a round stock as opposed to any one individual.

Sorry about your current situation.

Joelacrane

2004-11-03, 11:54 pm

Well, i am 16 and i have almost no money, so i have to buy old stuff. I would be happy with a new low end Dell Celeron, but i simply cant afford new stuff.

But...

I found the problem! It the POWER SUPPLY! I borrowed the supply off my dads old Satellite, and both of the batteries have charged up! I tried my PS on the Satellite, and it did the EXACT same thing. The power supply that came with this computer says it puts out 1.7 amps, and my dads power suppy puts out 2.0 amp. hmmmmm... I emailed the guy that i bought the computer from... He had better send me a new power supply! even if he doesn't, they are only like 5 bucks on ebay.

vincentnl

2004-11-05, 1:01 am

You said that you are using Windows98 right?
Your age is irrelevant to me but if you must know I am 31 and started off with Windows 95.
I now use WindowsXP and ain't no expert.
I have only ever used laptops and done only part-time pc home study.

You mentioned your dad's satellite batteries stuff.
Have you ever thought about going into the control panel and checking out the power configurations there?
Checking and unchecking stuff there can have a huge impact on the way your computer behaves.

I CANNOT HIGHLY STRESS STILL THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING A FEE CHARGING EXPERT though.
Pop in and see one or two without your computer, give them a good verbal description of your problem and get some handy ideas for free.
These people only ever charge for work done once you leave your computer with them.
Power supplies are the second most dangerous things to play around with concerning computers to that of a pc's registry.

XXXX with the registry and the computer's dead. XXXX with the power supply and you risk not only your life but the home you are living in if you survive.

Ain't into poer supplies although I have played with such things in the past with non-pc items and it is true, place an item with less power and it won't work, place an item with a lot more power and it won't work either - more likely to blow the original power source than the actual appliance.

Have fun.

& great going.
Hope your new toy lasts as that is what computers are to me.

Joelacrane

2004-11-05, 11:15 am

Haha i started with windows 3.1! Man i remember... i was like 7... and dad got a top of the line IBM 386! Awesome computer! i like windows 98, i might get XP sometime but 98 runs everything i need it to.

Why have it looked at? Its working fine! I am going to call toshiba and ask what the correct power supply is though, as i need to buy a new one. I have been using my dads for days now and it is working flawlessly. And remember, i just switched power supplies. I have done nothing dangerous. If i dropped it into the kitchen sink to wash it while it was plugged in THEN it is probably lethal... But now when i try it on a different computer!

Lemme tell you the conversation that i had with the local toshiba dealer...
"Hi, i have a Tecra 8000, and the batteries are refusing to charge."
"We dont repair laptops."
"Well, can you just guess what is wrong?"
"Nope."
"Can you give me toshibas phone number?"
"Nope"
"ok, thanks"

They have treated me like this on a number of occaisions.

vincentnl

2004-11-06, 3:36 am

Use a back street dealer.
Most internet cafes do pc repairs as they do over here in the UK.

You started on pc's from 7?
With your dad adding to your knowledge base?
You jammy so and so

Toshiba's are excellent computers.
They are what I started off with and I started with pc's proper at 25 just after getting my first mobile phones.

Windows 98 is cool.
I only got XP cos I had one of two options - I had messed up my pc and it was crashing all the time since I tried Windows 2000. I was using the minimal requirements.
A new pc was the last resort and I had to abide.
The alternative was put up or shut up.
I'm not that patient man.
No regrets - I was aiming for qualifications.
Still don't have any.

vincentnl

2004-11-06, 4:32 am

Why use batteries when you can use electricity?

Batteries last on average only 2 hours per time anyway and are only good for either emergencies in terms of sudden power loss allowing one time to back up and save their stuff and then to safely shut down their pc or to move it from one place to another without direct power.

Some things ain't worth worrying about.

GFORCE18

2004-11-08, 12:59 pm

Dude your all set. I purchased a toshiba laptop over a year and received a letter from them about a battery problem on that exact model you have. Contact them. Its a known issue.

Joelacrane

2004-11-08, 8:33 pm

Who? Toshiba or the person i bought the laptop from? I found power adapters on eBay, they sell for like 10 bucks so thats not a problem. But is it possible that toshiba will just replace my power adapter for me since this seems to be a common problem?

Thanks for the help guys!

Oh and my first computer activities consisted of messing up windows and playing A-force lol. Yes, messing with the registy can be bad, but useful if you are just careful...

And i think laptops lose half of their functionality when the batteries go bad. This is gonna be handy for long car trips! 2 batteries = 4 hours which is long enough to play some Half-life and watch Divx encoded movies!

bigfish

2005-02-02, 7:00 pm

For that problem, there are probably 2 resasons.

Harware side: Your notebook has a bad charger board (or battery board or other names those big guys call), the board does not charge the battery, so the battery gets dead when it is exhausted.

Software side: Your notebook has a outdated BIOS, it does not recognize the battery you newly bought very well, which has a newer firmware. If so, you need to flash your BIOS. You can find more battery tips to help you solve the problem @ http://www.ebuybatteries.com/company/battery_faq.htm

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