Satellite Pro Laptops

[Griff100]

Hi,

Just wondering if somebody can help me...

I have a satellite pro L550-19T and I have noticed that my laptop wont charge the battery. 

It says that it acknowledges that there is a battery connected (with 18% power in) but wont charge it. 

It also wont use the power still in the battery so when I unplug the AC cable it turns off.

I installed "battery check" software to see what's going on with it and it says that it thinks the battery is "Full Charge" but 18%. Which is what I think the problem could be. The battery is in good health 91% and only 1 year old.

I have looked on many forums and tried all the suggestions such as:

- Shut down, unplug AC & Battery, then hold down the power button for 30 seconds.

- Uninstalled the "Microsoft acpi-compliant control" method

- and now have waited till the battery has drained 0% hopeing to do a discharge cycle recharge.

But still nothing.... And still saying that its plugged in at 0%, but not charging.

Can anyone help?

[drev9]

First off, good troubleshooting so far!  You have gone through a lot of the steps already.  Is this system under warranty?  If so, then you should definitely utilize the warranty and have the system repaired by the service center.  If not... proceed to the rest of my message.

When you plug the charger in, does the battery charging light on the laptop turn on?  if not, it could possibly be a blown fuse on the motherboard.

A buddy of mine had a similar issue with a different model Toshiba about a year ago.  He thought the issue was with his motherboard, so he bought one of these(I do not know what seller he bought his from, I just know it was an external battery charger):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/External-battery-charger-Toshiba-P100-P105-PA3479U-PA3480U-PABAS078-PABAS079...

Once the battery was charged outside the laptop, he plugged it back into the laptop, and all of the sudden, it started working correctly again.  My only guess is that charging it outside the laptop reset it.

It's an expensive gamble if it turns out to be a motherboard related issue, but I just wanted to put the option out there.  Hopefully others will share their knowledge on this issue as well.

[ESLDEB]

I have exactly the same computer and it has just started doing the same thing.  I was wondering if you ever found a way to fix the problem.  And I was also wondering what program you used to determine your battery's life.

[ESLDEB]

I was just reading your very helpful reply.  I have the exact same computer, and it's now having the same problem.  Did you ever hear anything from the original writer regarding if/how the problem was solved....and/or if she used the recommended external charger?

Thanks!

[MartinEnglish]

I have the same problem with the same laptop - has a solution/explanation ever been put forward? Or is it just a feature built into the laptops to make me buy a new one?  I can't believe I'm just expected to throw awat a 2 year old laptop.

[Forrest1229]

I foudn this on another site.  it worked for me.  My laptop has always been on Saver

Starting stage –

 laptop on mains only,

battery taken out,

Power plan Balanced (important!):
· Change Power Plan to Saver
· Turn off laptop
· Unplug the mains cable. Now your comp is totally unpowered.
· Press start button and hold it for 10-15 secs
· Plug the mains back in and boot the computer
· Insert the battery back on.
Worked for me, it started charging. Although interesting thing – once I decided to change the Power plan back to Balanced – it all happened again (“plugged – not charging”) and I had to re-do this voodoo once more. 

[Vaclav00]

I have this problem with aftermarket charger, is not strong to run laptop and charge at the same time, when I fix my original adapter all work fine

[nhhiker]

Hey this worked wonderfully for me.  Thanks.  A nice easy fix and it didn't cost me anything.