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Question from Anita.: Hi Rick. The battery in my HP laptop went bad and I need to order a new one.
When I looked up the model number for my laptop on Amazon a thousand choices for replacement batteries came up.
What really confuses me is the number of cells each battery has. Some have 4 cells, some have 6 and others have 9.
Are more cells better? [Read more…]
Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter
I’m often asked whether laptop batteries need to be drained completely before recharging them.
My answer? Well, it depends on the type of battery that it uses.
Early laptops used nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries which were subject to a “memory effect”.
If NiCads weren’t allowed to discharge all the way before being recharged they would eventually “remember” the level of charge they fell to before recharging and act as if they were completely drained every time their charge decreased to that level. [Read more…]
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Question from Brenda G.: I have a two and a half year old Dell Latitude E5570 laptop that no longer works unless it’s plugged into a wall outlet.
I took it to the computer shop here in town and they said the battery is bad but they can order a replacement battery and install it for me for $160.
I really like this laptop but I don’t want to spend that much money for a battery if you don’t think it’s a wise use of the money.
My question is do you think I should have the guys at the computer shop order a battery and install it for me or would it make more sense to just apply that $160 towards a new laptop?
I really respect your opinion and I’ll take your advice regardless of which way you recommend I go.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Lenovo has just announced the recall of 166,500 laptop batteries in the United States and Canada due to a potential fire hazard.
If your laptop has one of the affected batteries, you should remove it from the laptop immediately and contact Lenovo Support to request a free replacement battery. To find out if the battery in your laptop is affected by this recall, simply visit this page and check to see if its part number is on the list.
While you’re waiting for your replacement battery to arrive, you can use your laptop while running on power supplied by the AC adapter (without a battery installed).