Ar said:
Asking here as I don't have a laptop.
If a laptop battery fails for whatever reason, should it still be able
to switch on / boot / be usable powered on just the mains power, with or
without the battery pack installed?
I have a friend who when booted to Windows it claimed there was a fault
with the battery. They are not technologically minded. Taking the
battery out, and they claim the laptop won't boot, is this right?
Brand is a Toshiba.
Some laptops won't start if the battery is physically absent.
Similarly, I've seen desktops that won't start if the CMOS battery was
removed, even if it was a dead (too low) battery.
Put the battery back in. Boot and look at Power Options. Make sure
there isn't a setting for battery operation alone.
Have you unplugged all external devices (USB keyboards, mice, printers,
memory drives, etc) from the laptop and then see if the laptop powers up
and boots okay with the battery absent? Perhaps your A/C adapter is too
weak (by design or defect) so it cannot provide all the power needed by
both the laptop and all those external devices. Although the battery
might be weak (doesn't last as long as a new one), it still may supply
sufficient power during the current surge when powering on. After the
surge on power on, the A/C adapter might be sufficient for the running
power requirement.
Some folks are overly physically abusive, and laptops get banged around
a lot more than desktop PCs. The A/C cord might've gotten whacked many
times when used while travelling or even at work or home simply by
shoving it around so the power connector going into the laptop gets hits
repeatedly. This could break the receptable in the laptop so the
connection is flaky. While it sounds goofy, putting the battery in
could have you moving the power cord in a way that lets it make a good
connection while removing it happened to push the power cord so it then
had a bad connection. With the battery removed and the power cord
plugged into the laptop, turn on the laptop and wiggle the power cord.
I've seen users note that when inserting a non-Toshiba battery that
their laptop would not start. Their problem is the laptop would not
boot on the battery alone but required booting on A/C power. After the
boot completed and they were in Windows, they could remove A/C power and
continue on the battery. Seems there is some logic in the Toshiba to
determine if a Toshiba battery is installed, or it could be the
protection circuitry to prevent lithium temperature runaway that causes
fires. The logic board in the battery is missing when the battery is
missing so the laptop doesn't know if it cannot read the logic from the
battery or if the logic is wrong or the battery is missing (there is no
physical presence detection of the battery). Lithium batteries contain
their own logic to prevent thermal runaway
(
however, from the
experience of these users, there also seems to be some recognition of
whose battery is in the laptop. If the battery is absent, recognition
is also absent.
I've seen reports that some Toshiba and HP laptops won't boot without a
battery. Looks like they expect to detect the presence of a battery and
that it's the right type of battery. Could be that if it detect an
overly low voltage that it refuses to boot since the normal state would
be to charge the battery while on A/C power, but charging a bad lion
battery could cause a fire, and a missing battery would register as
undervolted (i.e., zero volts). There are probably many reasons why
laptop makers won't permit their products to power on if they cannot a
battery and its condition. Looks like you'll have to leave a battery in
the laptop, even if it's an old one so you can leave a new replacement
somewhere else in a safe place.
The shelf life of a CR2032