Battery Problems with iBook

stevegongrui · January 10, 2003 9:12AM

Recently I've noticed that the battery capacity on my iBook is getting less and less.

I can almost see the percentage going 100...99...98...97 (A drop in percentage every half minute)

I never used my battery really that much though.

Is there any way to bring back the battery capacity?

Is my battery out of life and I need to....throw it off a cliff?

Thanks.

defiant · January 10, 2003 1:04PM

/screaming:

THROW IT OFF A CLIFF !!! THROW IT OFF A CLIFF !!! THROW IT OFF A CLIFF !!!

reset your power manager : <a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449"; target="_blank">click</a>.

luca · January 10, 2003 1:04PM

It would *really* help if we knew which model iBook it is, what processor speed, when you bought it, what OS you're running, etc. Without that information it's quite difficult to make an accurate diagnosis.

If it's an original 300 MHz Clamshell purchased in 1999, that's totally different from a brand spanking new 800 MHz Chiclet.

dale mox · January 10, 2003 2:17PM

iBook 500 mHz running on Mac OS X 10.2.3

defiant · January 10, 2003 2:35PM

bought when ?

dale mox · January 10, 2003 5:56PM

[quote]Originally posted by Defiant:

<strong>bought when ?</strong><hr></blockquote>

2 years ago appox.

defiant · January 11, 2003 4:53AM

well, I would say that's normal with a battery that age. can someone confirm ?

stevegongrui · January 13, 2003 4:45AM

As Mox pointed out, I have the first iBook dual USB: (500) with DVD. I have an additional 128 ram chip installed.

The thing is I haven't used the battery extensively. Maybe added up in all about 2 weeks of continual charge and discharge.

Also,

What is the best way to treat a lithium ion battery? Should I go for a full discharge every time before recharging or should I try to always keep it charged ?

Thanks.

chucker · January 13, 2003 5:53AM

I have a similar problem. I bought an iBook 12" 700 in late July (so it's the first generation 750fx model), and my battery very slowly discharged. First, it didn't charge beyond 92% any longer, then 90%, ... - now it's 83%. The reason is the same: I hardly ever use the iBook without external power, and when I do, I don't fully discharge it afterwards.

As to resetting the power manager, the date does not change, so I assume it doesn't work. Need I do that nasty keyboard combo multiple times?

stevegongrui · January 13, 2003 9:40AM

Yes, I tried resetting the power manager too and it looks like it doesn't work

It looks like that's the only thing we can do though as the key combination seems to be for newer models without the little button on top of the av io

Should I throw it off a cliff.....?

escher · January 13, 2003 10:36AM

Well, I've used my iBook/500 (May 2001) extensively on battery power. Recently, the battery hasn't been lasting as long as it used to. Yesterday, I was surfing the web via AirPort from the living room. My battery level quickly went from 100% to 20%. At 20% I got a warning that my iBook would go to sleep within a few minutes. Amazingly, the battery level went down to 0% (zero percent) over about 20 minutes, but the iBook kept working at 0%. After about another 20 minutes, I had to got do something else. Bottom line: I wouldn't put too much faith in the battery indicator.

BTW: I got the sleep warning for the first time since installing OS X! Up until 10.2.2, my iBook just went to sleep without any warning. I'm glad Apple fixed the issue with 10.2.3.

Escher

Battery Problems with iBook

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