Dell Laptop battery

[BOAC]

Mrs B has an Inspiron 6400 - probably at least 4 years old, and mostly run on mains so def in the 'battery zone'. Flashing 4 reds 1 green on the power LED. I have Googled, run it down, removed it, recharged it and tested it (5 greens on both tests). Still there.

Do I start digging a small hole in our garden or are there any other tricks anyone knows? Will leaving it flashing cause any damage (battery rarely needed) or is it best to remove it?

[islander539]

Dell battery

I have been running my 2003 Latitude on mains, without a battery since 2007. No problems yet.

[mixture]

Will leaving it flashing cause any damage (battery rarely needed) or is it best to remove it?

Remove it or replace it, but don't leave a dodgy battery in-situ.

I have been running my 2003 Latitude on mains, without a battery since 2007. No problems yet.

Not sure why you would ever expect any problems running a laptop without a battery ?

[Capetonian]

Not sure why you would ever expect any problems running a laptop without a battery ?

Only if you have a power failure or the dog walks over the power lead and it comes unplugged!

[green granite]

I think it's a hangover from the days where some electronic stuff came with a dire warning that it must never be run without a battery.

[mixture]

Fair enough, was worried for a minute I might have missed something I should know....

[islander539]

Not sure why you would ever expect any problems running a laptop without a battery ?

Was responding to the question "or is it best to remove it?"

[BOAC]

Thanks all - out it will come and I might just buy her a new one for Xmas depending on how generous I feel............................

[Slasher]

Had the same problem BOAC - it did not cause any problems
whatsoever. I only changed the battery after I got jack of the
flickering yellow light some months later.

Couple of suggestions -

- if your going to operate your laptop for long periods of time
on mains, you'll extend the life of the battery by removing it.

- BatteryBar is a bloody good program for keeping an eye on
actual battery wear. I recommended same to someone here
a few months ago

PS no need to by Pro version - the free one is good enough
for the purpose.

[BOAC]

Thanks Slasher (how's the dancing....?) - I think since it covers battery performance and we don't really use that I'll give it a bye.