It is important that you properly maintain your laptop battery, but sooner or later you may find that your laptop computer is not being powered properly by it. This may simply be due to the fact that your laptop battery is a rechargeable battery that has a limited lifespan. However, if you feel that this is not the case there are several things that you can do to try to alleviate this lack of power.

• If you find that the battery will not keep its charge even when it is connected to the adapter, then the battery probably has reached the end of its useful life and will need to be replaced with a new battery. In that event, you will need to buy a replacement laptop battery from either the computer's manufacturer or a secondary source.
• Sometimes laptop batteries will not fully charge due to the fact that they become less efficient over time. If this happens, try to completely drain the battery of its charge and recharge it again and see if you notice an improvement in its performance.
• If you notice that the battery accepts a full charge but that the power is quickly drained, this may result from the high power demands that you place on the computer. Some of the computer's applications simply are resource hogs. In this event, try to close some of the more powerful software applications and limit yourself to running only one piece of software at a time.
• If you have a fully charged battery but the laptop does not operate at all, there may be a problem with the power connections between the battery and the computer. Remove the battery from its compartment and clean the terminals on both the battery and the computer. Reinstall the battery and see if the problem is corrected.
• If you have properly installed the battery and it still does not operate the laptop computer, visually inspect the battery to make sure that it has not been damaged. Although the battery cells themselves are relatively sturdy, the circuit board inside the battery pack may have became damaged and will require replacement of the battery pack. Also, make sure that the battery has not come in contact with any fluids. If so, dry the battery off with a paper towel and allow it to air dry completely before reinserting it into the laptop.
• If the battery does not operate properly and you notice that it becomes hot while the computer is being operated, there may be a problem with the battery pack. Laptop batteries will normally have a warm temperature when they are being used but an overly hot battery is probably an indicator of a faulty battery and its use should be immediately discontinued. If this is the case, contact the computer manufacturer to ensure that these batteries are not defective.

To ascertain that the problems that you are experiencing are the fault of the battery and not the computer itself, remove the battery and operate the computer on all electrical power only. If it runs properly the problem probably is associated with the battery.

How to Remove Your Laptop Battery From the Computer

To remove your laptop battery from the battery compartment of your computer, turn off your computer and lock the monitor into place. Place the computer on a firm surface with the bottom of the computer facing upwards. Determine where the battery is and unlock it by either pushing or sliding the retaining lock. If you are not sure which compartment stores the battery, you can either look for a battery icon on the bottom of the computer or refer to your laptop's documentation. When you release the lock, the battery will disengage and you can either lift or slide the battery out of its compartment.

Replacement Laptop Batteries

All batteries, and particularly rechargeable batteries, have a limited lifetime. The decline in functionality of a laptop battery is gradual but sooner or later when it is at the end of its life you will no longer be able to charge the battery at all. The average life of most laptop batteries is around three years and correlates to about 500 charging cycles. This will be displayed on your laptop computer by its battery management software utility. You will notice that the charge level will remain at a very low level and will not improve regardless of the time that it is charged by the power adapter.

At this point, you will need to purchase a new laptop battery. These are readily available from the computer manufacturer in their OEM versions and are also available in their generic equivalents from many suppliers. A new OEM laptop battery will generally cost between $100 and $200, while generic laptop batteries are usually available for half that price. To ensure that you purchase the proper battery, simply make sure that the battery provider guarantees that it will fit your particular laptop brand and model. Also, this is a good opportunity for you to increase the operating time of your laptop computer by purchasing a laptop battery with a higher storage capacity.