HP laptop batter issue

[codelurnin]

I just installed Ubuntu 9.10 on my HP 8510w. Having a problem with the batteries. I have the standard and the extended life batteries on the machine and it seems they both discharge rapidly even after a full charge. Are there drivers I need? Any ideas?

[krazyd]

How old are your batteries? How many charge cycles do you put them through each week? And how fast are they discharging?

[codelurnin]

The original battery is 2.5 years old. The extended life is about 1.5 years old. I charge both probably about 2 or 3x/week on average. It seems that every time I shut down my machine and leave it for a few hours, the batteries end up dead.

[IcarusR]

Is it actually switching off completely ? Screen going dark & blank ?

Once it is switched off completely & not in hibernation the OS does nothing. So is a hardware fault.

Could try completely discharging battery, so it will not do any thing when switched on, then plug mains in & leave it to charge with out using.
Do this a couple of times & then see if battery performs any better.

At 2.5 years old your battery could be on the way out.
Some people say putting in freezer for a while sometimes revives batteries, not tried it myself.

[krazyd]

The original battery is 2.5 years old. The extended life is about 1.5 years old. I charge both probably about 2 or 3x/week on average. It seems that every time I shut down my machine and leave it for a few hours, the batteries end up dead.

2.5 * 52 * 3 = 390 cycles

HP warranty only covers 12 months / 300 cycles.

I think it's new battery time.. yours has had a good run

Remember, the enemies of your battery are: full charge cycles, heat, time in that order.

See here for more info (awesome website!): http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm