Battery won't charge while machine in use

Pantagruel · 02-23-2008, 05:15 AM

Hi,

I purchased a new laptop a few months ago, and have struggled with an irritating power-supply issue ever since. My problem is that the battery will not charge up from a depleted starting-point (say 50% battery) while the laptop is in use. So I can’t switch from relying on battery power to relying on external power supply without restarting the machine.

Plugging the machine in when battery power begins to get low results in the battery monitor in the ‘tray’ at the bottom right hand of the screen displaying “plugged in and charging” for about 10 seconds only. Then it reverts to “plugged in, not charging” and the battery continues to discharge. Removing the battery at this point results in immediate power loss, and it becomes necessary to startup afresh, with the battery out. Likewise, if I’m using the laptop on the external power supply, and put the (slightly discharged) battery in, it will also switch to battery power without recharging – with the same annoying outcome.

The machine is a Toshiba Satellite M100, running Windows Vista Home Premium. The battery is a Li-ion Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS. The external power supply is 15V.
Given that the battery is relatively new, and that it seems to charge up OK when the machine is not in use, I doubt that this is a hardware problem. It could also be a normal limitation of the battery, I suppose, but I find that hard to believe.
My guess is that the problem is software related, and the fact that the battery does recharge when the laptop is started in ‘safe mode’ or when it is hibernating, seems to back this theory up. But I’ve searched MS help, the Toshiba website and web tech support forums generally without finding any other mentions of a problem like this. Mucking around with the power-plan settings in Vista makes no difference. I’ve tried updating to the latest BIOS from the Toshiba website, but this also hasn’t helped.
I’d really appreciate any suggestions at all as to what else I could try here, since this issue is causing me a surprising amount of inconvenience at work.

Thanks,

Ed

**speedster123** · 02-23-2008, 06:57 AM

i would get a new battery under warranty.

http://www.laptopbattery.net/laptopbatteries_LI.html

read the last line.

jpdavis9 · 11-20-2008, 04:40 PM

Ed, did you ever get this issue resolved? I have the identical problem with a Toshiba M55 with a brand new Toshiba PA3399U battery. I suspect a defective battery or failed charging circuit.
John

02-23-2008, 05:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
Pantagruel Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Windows Vista	Battery won't charge while machine in use Hi, I purchased a new laptop a few months ago, and have struggled with an irritating power-supply issue ever since. My problem is that the battery will not charge up from a depleted starting-point (say 50% battery) while the laptop is in use. So I can’t switch from relying on battery power to relying on external power supply without restarting the machine. Plugging the machine in when battery power begins to get low results in the battery monitor in the ‘tray’ at the bottom right hand of the screen displaying “plugged in and charging” for about 10 seconds only. Then it reverts to “plugged in, not charging” and the battery continues to discharge. Removing the battery at this point results in immediate power loss, and it becomes necessary to startup afresh, with the battery out. Likewise, if I’m using the laptop on the external power supply, and put the (slightly discharged) battery in, it will also switch to battery power without recharging – with the same annoying outcome. The machine is a Toshiba Satellite M100, running Windows Vista Home Premium. The battery is a Li-ion Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS. The external power supply is 15V. Given that the battery is relatively new, and that it seems to charge up OK when the machine is not in use, I doubt that this is a hardware problem. It could also be a normal limitation of the battery, I suppose, but I find that hard to believe. My guess is that the problem is software related, and the fact that the battery does recharge when the laptop is started in ‘safe mode’ or when it is hibernating, seems to back this theory up. But I’ve searched MS help, the Toshiba website and web tech support forums generally without finding any other mentions of a problem like this. Mucking around with the power-plan settings in Vista makes no difference. I’ve tried updating to the latest BIOS from the Toshiba website, but this also hasn’t helped. I’d really appreciate any suggestions at all as to what else I could try here, since this issue is causing me a surprising amount of inconvenience at work. Thanks, Ed

02-23-2008, 06:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
speedster123 Mentor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: United States-New York-Long Island Posts: 5,128 OS: xp pro SP3 My System	Re: Battery won't charge while machine in use i would get a new battery under warranty. http://www.laptopbattery.net/laptopbatteries_LI.html read the last line. __________________ Last edited by speedster123; 02-23-2008 at 07:00 AM.

11-20-2008, 04:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
jpdavis9 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1 OS: ubuntu 6.06	Re: Battery won't charge while machine in use Ed, did you ever get this issue resolved? I have the identical problem with a Toshiba M55 with a brand new Toshiba PA3399U battery. I suspect a defective battery or failed charging circuit. John