How to calibrate Samsung X-360 battery ?

In the BIOS there is a smart calibration option, do I have to run down the battery from fully loaded to empty 1 time ?

 

If your battery is losing capacity then the calibration is worth running. It does a full discharge down to empty (Windows shuts the computer down before the battery is completely discharged). This and the subsequent recharge enables the battery's electronics to update the true capacity. I have seen 10 to 15% of apparent lost capacity recovered by recalibration. However, frequent full discharges are not good for the battery's long term life so only do the recalibration every 3 to 6 months.

John

 

John,



I am doing this with a new 9-cell extended battery , funny thing is that according to RMClock the designed capacity is 90979 mWh but the fully charged capacity is bigger ; 93960 mWh....

Do I have to start the calibration with a fully loaded battery or doesn't it matter what level the battery is at ?

 

I wouldn't bother doing the calibration with a new battery unless you see a rapid drop-off in run time as it approaches empty.

Regarding the battery capacity, I see the same on my Dell 9-cell battery: Nominal capacity 90Whr, actual designed capacity 93.24WHr and fully charged capacity 91.62WHr. This may be in response to complaints about the previous generation of batteries where the fully charged capacity, even when new, was often below the nominal capacity.

John

 

But your designed capacity is higher than the fully charged capacity, with me it is the other way around..

 

True (but when my battery is fully charged it thinks it is at 101.8% full). But I wouldn't complain. The real test is to leave the computer running on a constant load (eg playing a long DVD - I use Dances with Wolves) and record the battery charge at regular intervals. You should get a graph which is close to a straight line.

John

 

John,



Should I start the calibration with a fully loaded battery ?

(because now the battery stays very long at 100 % before it starts dropping)

 

Ummm... I'm not sure how Windows calculates the % remaining but it might well not allow for the actual capacity being more than the designed capacity.

I don't think another full discharge will fix this. It should be possible to calculate the capacity during recharge from empty to full.

John

 

The fully charged capacity has been steadily been climbing , first 93960 MWh, then 95352 now at 96120 mWh since the last complete discharge through the BIOS from 100 % full battery, very funny

The designed capacity is still the same at 90979 mWh

 

OK. That suggests that something is confused. I agree that a discharge from full to empty then recharge might be a good idea.

John

 

I should do both in the BIOS ?

 

Get the battery full charged and then run the battery calibration function in the BIOS. Once the battery is discharged then you can either recharge with the computer turned off or in normal use (I tend to do the latter because the charge rate tends to be lower, which is kinder on the battery).

John