Windows 7 and Vista Software Issue
I can’t believe this is even an option in battery management. What in the world was Microsoft thinking?! Why would you NOT want to charge the battery when it’s plugged in?!
So here’s the issue, no matter what brand of laptop you have, HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer or some other brand; if you’re running Windows 7 or Vista you will eventually have a battery management issue. It’s NOT a battery problem, a driver problem, or a BIOS problem. It’s a Windows OS problem! Now it’s a good idea to double check your system now and then and ensure you’re running the latest versions of all that software. But that’s probably not the problem with this issue.
The problem seems to occur after a Windows update. If you have automatic update turned on, you may not even know that has occurred.
Update: 07/15/2012
If you have applied the latest Windows update, you may have noticed that your laptop stops recognizing the battery in the middle of a session. That means, while this fix may probably work for you, there are no permanent fixes to this problem as yet. The following and other processes like it, will only work for a short time. Before this latest Windows update, it would correct the issue until the next update. That’s no longer the case. Isn’t that special?! Friggin’ Windows!
Update: 08/20/2012
After the latest batch of Win7 updates; this problem has gone away for me. We’ve always known the issue is an OS problem, not a physical computer problem. So it appears Microsoft may have corrected the problem in their software. At least for me..the issue has been resolved and the battery recharges simply by plugging in the AC adapter as it should. Continue reading →