The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Refurb SZ - Battery Life questions

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by mitchgates, Jun 5, 2007.

  1. mitchgates

    mitchgates Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I got my refurb SZ440 from the sonystyle outlet last week, and have been running it through some tests to make sure everthing is working correctly. It seems like the standard battery that came with it may not be holding a full charge, but I have no way of really knowing without getting a new one to compare. Here's what I get...

    Speed Mode, Viao Optimized, zero load (computer sitting idle with sleep and monitor auto-off both DISABLED) - Approx 1:15 run time

    Stamina Mode, Performance setting, computer idle - Approx 4hrs run time.

    The strange thing is that the reported remaining battery life in Speed mode always ticks down way faster than estimated. For example if it says 1hr 26min remaining at a certian time, 1-2 min later it will say 1hr 21min remaining. I plan to buy a 2nd standard battery later this week and see if it performs any better.

    Thanks,
    M
     
    mitchgates, Jun 5, 2007
    #1
  2. mujtaba

    mujtaba ZzzZzz Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    4,242
    Messages:
    3,088
    Likes Received:
    510
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Try using the NHC (notebook hardware control) and see how much is your battery wear.
     
    mujtaba, Jun 5, 2007
    #2
  3. mitchgates

    mitchgates Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    NHC says 0% wear. I'm wondering, does a new battery get better after the first few charging cycles?

    -M
     
    mitchgates, Jun 7, 2007
    #3
  4. sylonien

    sylonien Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    32
    Messages:
    446
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yes "calibrating" the battery will help - search the forum, there are many articles/threads about how to do this.

    And also it's no big surprise of 1:26~1:21mins difference, depending on your usage! If you're just using a "constant" amount of processing power/battery then it'll be accurate, but if you use your harddrive, wireless, etc. then it'll drop very fast accordingly.

    Having said that, I have often experience where it says 2:50hrs, then after a while it'll say 3:10hrs! Cause the harddrive/Vista has settled down and then it'll display the current (average) true remaining battery life. :)
     
    sylonien, Jun 7, 2007
    #4