dv2000t: Terrible Battery Life?

I notice some people are getting 3 hours of battery life with this laptop but I only get ~1.5 hours max. That's with the lowest brightness setting and just doing basic internet surfing. Nothing else, not even background music. I've had my laptop since September and I hardly ever run it on the battery (probably used the battery a total of 10 times).

My Specs:
HP dv2000t w/ Core 2 duo T5500 (1.66ghz)
Nvidia 7200 Go 128mb
Windows MCE

I know the dedicated graphics lower the battery life but is 1.5 hours normal with this setup?

 

If its a new machine call HP. The battery might not be good

 

It's not exactly new... I've had it since late September. But it's been plugged in most of the time and I hardly ever run it off the battery. I noticed it was weak when I first got it but I didn't notice how bad it was until I actually timed it. Is it too late for them to help me?

 

Your core 2 duo should support speed stepping. Check to see that the cpu throttles itself down when it's not under such a high load. If the cpu doesn't step down to ~800mhz when idling this will significantly decrease your battery life.

 

Should be covered under the 1 year warantee, no???

 

Thanks! But how do I check if it throttles down? I didn't see any BIOS options for this.

Oh ok.. I wasn't sure if the battery was covered with the 1 year warranty.

 

The only way I know to check is by right clicking on 'My Computer' then going to properties. It will tell you there.

 

HP offers a free "Battery Check" you can download from their website. Click here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...n&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3177435&os=228&lang=en .

Your problem may have been caused by not using the notebook off of the cord enough. HP recommends that when you get the computer, you should use the computer off the cord 3-4 times running it from 100% to around 5%, before recharging to full again. This "primes" the battery and helps with battery life. It's recommended that at least once a month after the initial break-in you do the same thing, running the battery from max to near empty. If you think you're going to be using the battery a lot more now, I would recommend going on eBay and buying a new genuine HP 12-cell battery to use. I get a good 6 hours of life off mine.

 

if you need the battery life to be longer, you should upgrade to 12 cells but it will not make your dv2000 cool.
1.5h is normal for multimedia!

 

I did the drain and recharge only once when I first got it. However, I did the battery check right now and I had to recalibrate it (I don't know why, since there's no battery time remaining indicator) and then it said that my battery should be replaced and it told me to contact HP if still under warranty. So I'll see what happens. Thanks for the help!

 

The recalibration is for the % meter itself, not a time remaining clock. Notebook Hardware Control is a good program that adds a time remaining clock to your task bar if you're looking for one. HP shouldn't give you too much trouble since you got that message with the Battery Check. Good luck!