Windows 7 battery issue and maybe a fix or fluke?

Hi,
I had been experimenting yesterday with my Asus U81a. My issue is each and every time I use the battery even for a short time I lose a bit of my total charge capability. I have seen this and I only go to about 94% each time. I do not have the design capacity issue some seem to have.

I thought to myself though that most say the damage is done when you go to another OS but it doesn't seem to get worse. I was pretty sure others, like I do, just plug in and continue to work. With HWMonitor I also noticed when you plug in I also was usually getting a new total capacity that was lower than it started.

So for the last few times I have run to about 94% or so and then shut it down. I then plugged in right away and charged, while being off, for about 45 minutes to be sure it went to a full charge. I went from the total of 55,960 to 56,140 the first time. The second time I went from 56,140 to 56,270, the third time 56,270 to 56,350 and now the last time from 56,350 to 56,485. Design capacity is 59,400, so there seems to be a definate trend here. I'll agree though it is too early to say this is a full fix and not just a fluke, hence the title, but it is somewhat promising at least. Also it shows there maybe something up with Windows 7, no matter how much Microsoft denies it.

I should note; right now I drain on high power profile to the point where I shut down. I am also sure to give it ample time to do the full charge while it is off. I am only one person and like I said it well could be a fluke but others may want to try this too. I think the issue with Windows 7 isn't during the running and maybe not even when draining battery but when charging or when it switches to charging etc......

 

The more you drain it, the more the charge takes off the total lifetime of the battery.

Batteries in general will slowly lose their maximum charge capacity due to the laws of chemistry.

edit:

The draining of the battery til it shutdown was an old tip way back in the day. This tactic is not recommended on today's batteries

 

I am not cycling the battery, at best just top charging it from a slight discharge. It seems that Windows 7 does not let the battery charge back up to its full capacity, why I do not know. Charging with the laptop off just takes Windows 7 out of the equation.

I wouldn't fully cycle a modern battery either, These would benefit much more from ballancing the cells. I am not sure the charging circuitry is capable of that though............

 

Laptop battery slows down the recharge when it reaches the max. For my laptop it's 96%, if I leave my computer overnight, in the morning it's at 100%... true 100%.

If your battery doesn't do that, than maybe your battery is broken, and you should seek to replace it under warranty.

 

Asus will not charge until 95% or less. This is an internal limitation placed to prevent contstant top off charges from relatively high states.

 

I think I have seen an option before for something called quick charging where it will charge the battery all the way to like 80% or 90% quickly, before it takes its precious time to charge the rest. Do you think it could be a setting that is making the charge a certain way? Or maybe the battery monitor is a bit inaccurate?

Well there is an option on some machines to limit how many percent you want the max charge to be to protect the battery if you are always plugged in.

 

I'm starting to notice a decrease in my battery life then again i usally keep the battery plugged and its over an year old..

 

Lithium-ion battery age with time.. in fact it automatically ages as soon after it's being produced. Using the battery slows down the aging process (aging is due to oxidation that occurs inside), the process is not super fast, but a month old battery again a new shows some differences. Also, a lot of laptop are badly engineered where the battery is in area where the battery can become warm when the system is under load. Heat ages the battery faster.

When in used, a battery last for about a year to a year and half, and it's max battery life reduces over time. The best trick to have a battery that last long is to see how much battery life you need per day max. Let's say 4 hours max. Then you get a 8-9 hours battery, as after a year you'll get 5-4 hours, and if you can stretch it by having an A/C on those long days for 6 months.
In result, you don't have to run and a buy an overpriced battery every 6 months, but a year or a year and half until it doesn't fit your needs, lots of money saved.

The downside with the above suggestion, is that the wear level is calculated in percentage, so when it reaches.. let's say 60% like in my case after a year, despite still having 4 hours, the BIOS and laptop software will say that your battery is no longer in good condition, same for Windows 7, despite being fine.