Ashley Posted May 4, 2010 Posted May 4, 2010 Lately noticing my Macbook (circa Mid 2007) battery is flying down. I know with any rechargeable battery you're supposed to let them die down every once in a while and I haven't lately but twice today it has run down to zero and I've not been using it that much. Anyone got any ideas on how (if) to fix it. I'm hoping I won't need a new battery as no doubt that will require a small loan being taken out as its Apple.
That Guy Posted May 4, 2010 Posted May 4, 2010 Don't think you'll have much luck fixing it, mine went the same way eventually. Do you know how many 'cycles' it's done, and the battery health? If you need a new one here is a good website for Apple parts Link
Emasher Posted May 4, 2010 Posted May 4, 2010 I had to replace the battery on my PowerBook a year ago or so. The cost wasn't that bad to be honest.
Ashley Posted May 5, 2010 Author Posted May 5, 2010 Don't think you'll have much luck fixing it, mine went the same way eventually. Do you know how many 'cycles' it's done, and the battery health? If you need a new one here is a good website for Apple parts Link No idea. Anyway I could find out? But cheers for the link. Not too bad. I was expecting at least £100.
nightwolf Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 A friend replaced their battery recently and commented that it wasn't that bad! Possibly cheaper than buying the cable charger haha.
Nintendohnut Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 Try iStat Pro It's a dashboard widget, gives you a rundown of everything on your mac, including battery life, the number of cycles you've used battery health etc. Pretty useful.
Eenuh Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 Try iStat Pro It's a dashboard widget, gives you a rundown of everything on your mac, including battery life, the number of cycles you've used battery health etc. Pretty useful. Oooh thanks for that, I can use that too heh. How many cycles can a battery go through before it kinda dies? I'm on my second battery now and its health seems to be at 89% with 516 cycles. I very often just keep it plugged in though, as I need it all day. That's probably not good heh... >.>;
Nintendohnut Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 I don't think it's that bad. Mine, which is now probably around 4 1/2 years old has 90% health on 512 cycles, and I use it almost exclusively plugged in. When it is unplugged the battery health tends to drop, I assume cause it's so old. I looked it up a while ago and apple suggest you let your battery run down to 0 once every now and again, I try to do it every month or so and I think that usually helps. I don't think it's that bad. Mine, which is now probably around 4 1/2 years old has 90% health on 512 cycles, and I use it almost exclusively plugged in. When it is unplugged the battery health tends to drop, I assume cause it's so old. I looked it up a while ago and apple suggest you let your battery run down to 0 once every now and again, I try to do it every month or so and I think that usually helps.
Eenuh Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 Haha my battery is only like, a year old. =P I rarely let it run down to 0 though... I probably should. I don't know enough about all this technical stuff really. I just plug it in whenever it's about to run out (10 minutes left) or I keep it plugged in. *will try to pay more attention to her battery*
That Guy Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 Try iStat Pro It's a dashboard widget, gives you a rundown of everything on your mac, including battery life, the number of cycles you've used battery health etc. Pretty useful. Beat me to it there. I have the same widget, it is pretty useful. You can get the number of cycles by going through system profiler as well. The older batteries should have 80% capacity after about 300 cycles, and the newer ones I think 80% after 500. It also doesn't matter if it's always plugged in as long as you calibrate it every couple of months. Which is let it drop to 0%, leave it off for 6 hours, then fully charge it and leave it at 100% for 6 hours.
Ashley Posted May 6, 2010 Author Posted May 6, 2010 Wow that sounds like a faff. But I may do it next time...I can think when to do it with least disturbance to general life. Cheers
That Guy Posted May 7, 2010 Posted May 7, 2010 It can be a bit. It is especially if you need your computer. I tend to do it over night and then leave it plugged in during the day.
Ashley Posted May 9, 2010 Author Posted May 9, 2010 Tried it and...doesn't seem to have done anything. Battery power has gone down 8% in about 10 minutes. Guess its time to get a new battery :/
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