[MrForgetable]

What can I do?

[manero]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
What can I do?

i think the laptops won't charge if the battery is up around 95-97%. try running it down do say, 80, and then seeing if it charges to 100%.

[MrForgetable]

decided to run it down to 88 by watching a DVD and it's charging now. thanks

[alligator]

Mine does that too.

[sq'�]

I think the batteries are designed that way, too. Correct me if I'm wrong someone, but I believe they will charge to 100% and then go back down to somewhere betwixt 95 and 100 to increase the overall life of the battery, i.e. a full charge for hours on end might damage the battery.

Is this accurate?

[SupahCoolX]

Batteries can only take a finite number of recharge cycles before they start to wear out. Therefore, Apple (and other companies, I'm sure) make it so that you won't "waste" a cycle for a less-than 5% charge.

[cloudaj]

Originally posted by SupahCoolX:
Batteries can only take a finite number of recharge cycles before they start to wear out. Therefore, Apple (and other companies, I'm sure) make it so that you won't "waste" a cycle for a less-than 5% charge.

a 5% charge doesn't count as a full cycle, "toping-off" your battery is actually recommended as your battery will last longer than if you run it totally down and recharge completely, iirc.

[Keiretsu]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
What can I do?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88344

[kafoochy]

Topping-off is not recommended as any time the battery is charged it will wear it down. This is why it Apple recommends that you either keep it fully charged or let it run down and start from scratch. Every-time you let the battery run down you are "calibrating" it which has many positive side effects so you should do it every so often. SupahCoolX is correct.

[MrForgetable]

so you guys are saying if you are going to use the battery, use it until it goes to sleep, and charge it up?

[kafoochy]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
so you guys are saying if you are going to use the battery, use it until it goes to sleep, and charge it up?

No, what we're saying is use it how you want to. Apple has designed it not to top the battery off unnecessarily. Every so often you may want it run it down until it goes to sleep, but this should just be a part of your normal usage and you shouldn't think about it.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by kafoochy:
No, what we're saying is use it how you want to. Apple has designed it not to top the battery off unnecessarily. Every so often you may want it run it down until it goes to sleep, but this should just be a part of your normal usage and you shouldn't think about it.

sometimes I'm gone for just 1-2 hours and I bring the laptop with me and use it at coffee shops. then I come back with about 70-80% battery life left and I just plug in the AC adapter and charge it and/or use it. is that harmful to the battery?

[kafoochy]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
sometimes I'm gone for just 1-2 hours and I bring the laptop with me and use it at coffee shops. then I come back with about 70-80% battery life left and I just plug in the AC adapter and charge it and/or use it. is that harmful to the battery?

That's fine, although some people may argue. With my mom's Pismo G3 we had to buy a replacement battery close to it's 3yr birthday and this was with a mixture of usage on the battery and charging. Money isn't in abundance in my family and we try and keep computers for as long as possible. I plan to have to replace my battery in my 1.5Ghz PB G4. If there is some technique that will allow me to replace it a month or two later than I would have, it isn't going to make any difference to me. Laptops are meant to be used, charged, used, charged, etc. You shouldn't have to bend over backwards to make sure that you discharge the battery after every use. Will it help battery life? Maybe, but all batteries will loose charge and die eventually. It is your own choice how you use your computer. No technique is going to significantly change the life of your battery. Discharging it once a month is good measure though.

[kafoochy]

Dr.Michael posted this link http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm in this forum http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=223901 and confirms what I said which is that you should just use the laptop normally and fully discharge it once a month or so. This is called "calibration" because it allows the battery to accurately display the remaining charge, which it can misread over time. There really isn't anything you can do to prolong life. I guess the almost 3yrs of my mom's battery was good! Just use your laptop how you need to! Plug it in if when you're near an outlet otherwise just run off the battery and enjoy the freedom your PB (and airport ) provides!

[RonnieoftheRose]

My menubar nearly always reads 99%, so much so that I have '99%' screen-burned into the corner of the screen.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
My menubar nearly always reads 99%, so much so that I have '99%' screen-burned into the corner of the screen.

Really?

[alligator]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
My menubar nearly always reads 99%, so much so that I have '99%' screen-burned into the corner of the screen.

That LCD burn I hear is really bad. Just think of all those people who have a "Start" button burned into their PCs.

[SupahCoolX]

Originally posted by kafoochy:
Topping-off is not recommended as any time the battery is charged it will wear it down. This is why it Apple recommends that you either keep it fully charged or let it run down and start from scratch. Every-time you let the battery run down you are "calibrating" it which has many positive side effects so you should do it every so often. SupahCoolX is correct.

Thanks