Problem description:
After the battery is fully charged, it has been running with alternating current. After self-discharging to 95%, the taskbar shows that it is charging. Is this a charge?
If so, is there any good solution?
Analysis:
One of the important characteristics of notebook computer that is different from desktop computer is its good mobile performance. On many occasions, notebook computers are inconvenient for external power supply and need batteries to provoke the heavy responsibility of power supply. Some people compare the battery to the flowing blood of a laptop. Although it is not very appropriate, the important position of battery in notebook computer can be seen from this. However, in actual work and life, many friends are not very clear about how to detect the battery and how to use and maintain the battery reasonably in daily work and use, which leads to the purchase of "congenital deficiency" batteries, or the battery "grows old before it is old" during use, which not only greatly shortens the service life, but also makes the use time unsatisfactory. Even some "old birds" have some misunderstandings about the daily maintenance of batteries. This paper answers some common questions about the selection, testing and maintenance of laptop batteries in detail.
1. What are the common types of laptop batteries and their advantages and disadvantages? What kind of battery should I buy?
There are three kinds of batteries commonly used in civil notebook computers: nickel-cadmium battery (Ni-Cd), nickel-hydrogen battery (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion battery (Li-Ion). Its characteristics are briefly described as follows:
Nickel-cadmium battery: Nickel-cadmium battery is the earliest battery type used in notebook computers. At that time, the production technology and technology of batteries were not advanced enough, so nickel-cadmium batteries had many shortcomings, such as small capacity and large volume. The charge and discharge times of Ni-Cd battery are about 300-700 times, but if it is not handled properly in the process of charge and discharge, there will be a "memory effect" (the so-called "memory effect" means that the charge of the battery is not completely discharged before charging, and the rated capacity of the battery will decrease with the passage of time), which greatly shortens the service life. In addition, cadmium is toxic, so nickel-cadmium batteries are not conducive to protecting the ecological environment. Due to many shortcomings, nickel-cadmium battery has been eliminated from the application range of notebook batteries.
Ni-MH battery: The second generation battery type used in notebook computers is Ni-MH battery. Compared with Ni-Cd battery, Ni-MH battery has a larger energy density ratio, which means that Ni-MH battery can effectively extend the working time of notebook computer without adding extra weight. Ni-MH battery has a long life, and its charge and discharge can reach about 1000 times. Another advantage of Ni-MH battery is that it greatly reduces the problem of "memory effect" in Ni-Cd battery, making Ni-MH battery more convenient to use. Ni-MH battery is the most environmentally friendly battery at present. It no longer uses toxic cadmium, eliminating the pollution of heavy metal elements to the environment. Some countries that pay attention to environmental protection strongly advocate the use of Ni-MH battery because it is easy to recycle. Ni-MH battery is still used in notebook computers by some manufacturers because of its high cost performance and environmental protection.
Lithium-ion battery: Lithium-ion battery has the advantages of light weight, large capacity and no memory effect, so it has been widely used-most notebook computers now use lithium-ion batteries, although the price is relatively expensive. Lithium-ion battery has the highest energy density among notebook computers at present, and its capacity is 1.5~2 times that of the same weight nickel-hydrogen battery, and its self-discharge rate is extremely low. Lithium-ion battery has no "memory effect" and contains no toxic substances, which is also an important reason why it is widely used in notebook computers. Although the life of lithium-ion battery is shorter than that of Ni-MH battery (generally about 400-800 times of charge and discharge), the performance of Ni-MH battery is much worse than that of lithium-ion battery in daily use, so everyone still tries to choose a notebook computer with lithium battery.
At present, most notebook computers on the market use lithium-ion batteries (usually referred to as lithium batteries). You can consult the seller or consult the relevant information in the manual for confirmation when purchasing. Unless otherwise specified, the following parts of this paper are all about lithium batteries.
2. Why does the battery have a certain amount of power when purchasing the machine? Is this normal?
Generally, when the battery of a new notebook computer leaves the factory, it will be pre-charged with a certain amount of electricity for debugging. This is a normal phenomenon, not necessarily the reason why it has been used all the time. But we should pay attention to: first, this part of the electricity must be exhausted before it can be charged. (I will explain the reasons for doing this and how to discharge and the degree of discharge later. )
3. Why should we pay attention to the charge and discharge times of the battery when purchasing? How to treat it?
Many people think that the life of laptop battery is calculated according to its service life, but it is not. What really matters is the number of Wally discharges (this is not a special case of laptop batteries, but all rechargeable batteries). As mentioned above, under normal use, the charge and discharge life of lithium-ion batteries is about 400 times. Now some JS renovate the appearance of old batteries or sell prototypes. If you are not careful, it is easy to buy used batteries. How can you expect this "congenital bad" battery to serve you for a long time? Therefore, when purchasing, you should pay attention to using software to check the charge and discharge times of the battery. Generally speaking, new batteries should not be used more than 3 times.
It should be noted that this count will only increase when the battery is discharged below 50% (the proportion of different models of batteries is different) and recharged. For example, if your battery is discharged to 90% and then fully charged, this count will not increase, but the life of the battery will be reduced due to repeated charging and discharging, so this parameter can only be used as an auxiliary judgment, so there is no need to be overly superstitious.
So how do you check the charge and discharge times of the battery? Unfortunately, not all brands of notebook computers can check the battery charge and discharge times. As far as I know, only ibm and Sony have adopted the relevant design in their original batteries, which can be obtained by reading the relevant data in the internal chip of the battery through special test software, but other brands cannot.
IBM: A program called Thinkpad Configuration is pre-installed on the IBM notebook computer. Click the icon on the program taskbar to select battery information, and select the "Status Details" tab in the pop-up window. In the last line of the displayed information, there is an indication of "cycle counting", which is the number of times the battery is charged and discharged.
Sony: To view the battery information of Sony VAIO notebook computer, you can double-click the icon of pre-installed PowerPanel software on the taskbar, and a battery information window will pop up. Click the forward button in the battery information interface, and a small window will pop up to tell you the detailed information of the battery, in which the charging cycle shows the charging and discharging times.
4. How to test the state of the battery?
Some friends will say, what if I don't buy a notebook from Sony or IBM? Can't you know the performance and state of the battery? Ha ha, fortunately, we also have a very professional general software, which can let you know how long your notebook battery can work, and avoid the embarrassment of the battery when it is in urgent need. This is the battery tag 4.0. 1. You can find it online.
5. Should the new battery be fully charged and discharged before use? How to operate correctly?
As I said when I introduced the types of batteries before, although lithium batteries have no memory effect in theory, they actually have memory effect, only slightly. So, don't rush to use the notebook after you take it home. First of all, we should use up the original remaining power of the new battery before charging. The specific method is that, under the condition of using the battery alone without external AC power supply, the complete discharge operation can be completed according to the following steps (taking Windows XP as an example): click on the control panel-performance and maintenance-power supply control-alarm, and cancel the alarm prompt of low battery. When the battery has been used until the power shortage alarm is serious (set to 1-2% alarm), it can be considered as completely discharged and shut down (be careful not to shut down automatically until there is power failure, which is similar to power failure. After the discharge is completed, charge the battery until it is fully charged (it is best to turn it off, do not unplug the power supply during charging, and continue charging for a period of time after the charging indicator light goes out. In many cases, at this time, the battery is only 80-97% charged), and at the same time, the power prompt alarm is restored to the initial prompt alarm state. Note that after charging is completed, wait for about 30 minutes until the battery is basically cooled before use.
6. Is the concept of deep charge and discharge correct?
For the use of lithium batteries, most users have formed the surface law of the first three deep charges and discharges. Perhaps many friends have seen similar explanations in many materials and even in official website. What's more, some users have adopted the following extreme deep discharge methods: exhausting the last power in the BIOS and discharging the battery until it can't be turned on. Recently, a netizen sent an email to IBM's technical support department, and the reply was: the document clearly stated that lithium-ion batteries should not be deeply charged. Deep charging is only applicable to Ni-MH batteries. This document makes it clear that lithium batteries should not be deeply charged. Deep charging is only for Ni-MH batteries). This answer comes from IBM's official technical reply email. On IBM's website, there is also a note on the relevant page: Note: You are a deeply discharged lithium-ion battery. This is completely different from the concept formed by the majority of users in the previous concept, but since IBM has such an authoritative answer, we should pay attention to it and observe the final result according to the actual use. Some friends have reported that in the actual use process, there have been cases where the actual capacity of the battery has decreased due to this extreme deep discharge.
Therefore, the author suggests that the above-mentioned full charge and discharge (instead of the above-mentioned extreme deep discharge) can be carried out three times before the battery is used to fully activate the lithium battery; As for charging, most laptop batteries are designed with built-in overcharge protection circuits, so there will be no battery damage caused by overcharge.
7. When using a laptop with an external AC power supply, should the battery be removed?
As mentioned above, the life of the battery is not determined by the total service time, but by the actual charge and discharge times (not the times counted by the test software). If the battery is always installed on the computer and not removed, after the AC power supply is removed, the battery will gradually discharge even if the computer power supply is turned off because the environment in which the lithium battery is located cannot be absolutely insulated and the control circuit is integrated in the battery. When the AC power supply is turned on again, the battery will start charging (most batteries are designed to start charging when the charge is lower than 95%, and different models have different designs), so whenever the power supply is turned on or off, the battery will be repeatedly charged and discharged. This practice is very harmful to the Ni-MH battery with strong electric memory effect. Although the electric memory effect of lithium-ion battery is relatively small, long-term incomplete charging and discharging will also reduce the battery life to some extent. In addition, the heat generated when the computer works will also affect the life of the battery.
Therefore, when the power supply is stable in the computer environment, it is recommended that you remove the battery and use the power adapter to supply power separately. The purpose of this is simple, that is, to avoid frequent charging of the battery under the condition of incomplete discharge. Of course, if your computer has poor power supply and there is no external UPS uninterrupted power supply, you'd better connect the battery to play the role of UPS. After all, a battery is cheaper than a laptop with a price of tens of thousands. Don't pick up sesame seeds and lose watermelon!
In addition, some models of notebooks do not have a battery compartment cover, which will affect the appearance of the fuselage after removing the battery; There are also some notebook batteries that also play the role of counterweight in design, which may affect the balance of the fuselage after being removed. This part of users can choose according to their own preferences (there seems to be a dilemma: (,hehe).
8. How to keep the removed battery?
The storage condition of the battery is also a problem that needs attention. Generally speaking, it should be noted that the ambient temperature is between 15-30 degrees Celsius, and it should be stored in a dry and ventilated place.
In addition, because the lithium-ion batteries used in most notebook computers are often easily "overdischarged" if they are not used for a long time, they may never be recharged. Therefore, if the battery needs to be put on hold for a long time, it is necessary to ensure that the battery has a certain amount of electricity. Various manufacturers have different opinions on how much remaining power should be left, but I suggest that it is better to save it after it is fully charged. In addition, it is necessary to charge and discharge the batteries that have not been used for a long time at least once a month according to the correct method mentioned above. The purpose of this is to prevent the battery ions from losing their electrical activity after long-term non-use, so that they cannot be recharged.
That's enough about the precautions for the purchase and daily maintenance of laptop batteries. I would like to remind you that the notebook computer is just a tool after all, and there is no need to affect your normal work and entertainment for the sake of perfect battery maintenance. Finally, I wish everyone's notebook battery can stay young forever under your careful care, so that your mobile life power will never end!