What To Look For When Buying and Replacing a Laptop Battery
It happens. One day your laptop will disconnect from the power supply and it will turn off to your surprise as if there was no battery inserted. Yet you can see the battery. What gives?
Your battery needs replacing! Even rechargable batteries have a shelf life that is measured in cycles, A:h or Amps per hour.
Check First
Before you hit the internet to find your new replacement run a few tests just to be sure. Windows 7 and Windows 8 has a power/energy report command that can show you exactly how healthy your battery is, what type it is and its model number to make finding a replacement that much easier. Most laptops will come with the manufacturer's own power management software which you can find in the manufacturer's folder in the list of programs off the start menu.
Windows 7
To get to the Command Prompt in Windows 7 click 'Start', then in the search bar type 'cmd'. You will see an application at the top of the results. Right click it and select ' Run as Administrator'.
Now type: 'powercfg -energy' and press 'enter'.
It will run a few tests for a minute and then generate an html file with it's findings. It gives you the location of the file so you can find and open it in a web browser. There you will be able to cross reference the maximum capacity with the last fully charged capacity and see the difference. If it's half the amount then it's soon time to get a new battery.
Windows 8
In Windows 8 drag the pointer to the top right corner and click on the 'search' icon. Type 'cmd' and you should be able to see the application.
Click on it and type 'powercfg /batteryreport'. Press 'enter' and it will compile a report for you letting you know where it is to look through again giving you the stats for your battery's life.
Buying a Battery
Now that you have the exact model number with the specs you need from the command lines or the power management software it is time to locate a battery.
So when purchasing a battery for your laptop, the first thing you should look for is the reputability of the product at mind. If the product is made by the manufacturer of your laptop (i.e. Sony, Compaq, Dell, etc), you can usually be sure it is a quality product. However, many manufactures do not actually manufacturer, instead they are the brander of the product. For example, if you open up an original Sony laptop battery, you might find that the power cells inside are actually made by another big name company like Panasonic and the only thing Sony has done is put a case around it. This goes to show that the brand of the battery you are buying does not necessarily mean that the quality is superior. Third party brands generally use the same power cells as original manufacturers. Buying one of these is often a good choice when buying a battery, as they are cheaper than original manufacturers' batteries. They also come with a better warranty as the manufacturers need to promote themselves. Make sure the battery has a one year warranty and you should be all set to buy a new one.
I would recommend using newegg.com for originals or amazon.com for third party brands. Both these websites have user reviews and ratings so you can make the best informed decision.
If you have any questions about whether or not you need a new battery please contact us below.
