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    Battery charging question...is this normal?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by trikster, Jun 9, 2010.

  1. trikster

    trikster Notebook Evangelist

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    I don't think I have noticed this behavior before for just regular normal use, only when there was a lot of power being drawn through the computer...

    It seems that my battery is constantly being charged. The LED's keep switching over to the charging lighting scheme for a minute or two, then back to the fully charged scheme. I am running on the AC adapter, not battery, so I am a little confused as to why it is happening. I can understand it if the AC adapter isn't up for the power draw and pulls some from the battery, but just while composing this message, it has switched to charging mode about 4 times.

    I keep the power management at High Performance.

    Ideas?
     
    trikster, Jun 9, 2010
    #1
  2. TheOxman

    TheOxman Notebook Enthusiast

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    This happens on my M17x-R2, as well. However, when I boot my machine up, I always get a message saying that my AC adapter isn't supported and that the laptop will continue to run on battery power. It doesn't constantly run on battery power, but every so often the alien head will start flashing like I am and I can see my battery draining for a minute or two and then it will start charging back up. Very strange. I have a new AC adapter on the way from Dell, so I hope that fixes my problem.
     
    TheOxman, Jun 9, 2010
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  3. GadgetBoi

    GadgetBoi Notebook Evangelist

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    Mine does it also but only during game play, MW2 & BFBC2. It never happened on my R1. My charging status shows fully charged when this is happening and I am on high performance.
     
    GadgetBoi, Jun 9, 2010
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  4. trikster

    trikster Notebook Evangelist

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    Exactly as mine shows. I will ignore it for now, but keep an eye on it. Doing a power-drain doesn't seem to affect it either... sigh...
     
    trikster, Jun 9, 2010
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  5. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Not identical but similar. I have been trying to reproduce the 17xR1 A04 behavior and just noticed with the battery removed and the system plugged into AC, while the system is shutdown (not sleep mode, actually shut down), the AlienHead on the Lid will pulse as if the unit is charging or in sleep mode.

    Very odd - although I dont normally have the battery removed so I dont know if this is normal behavior or not.
     
    BatBoy, Jun 9, 2010
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  6. trikster

    trikster Notebook Evangelist

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    I think my battery might be toast. I have had the laptop off and plugged in for most of the afternoon. It is saying 99% and will not go further. I am going to let it run with the AC adapter out until it powers down. Then I will cycle the battery a few times. I work with a lot of Lithium type batteries and if you don't give them a few good cycles from the get-go, they never perform like they should.

    Will keep you all updated (yay, finally something I can contribute, battery tech I know!)
     
    trikster, Jun 10, 2010
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