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53305
August 21st, 2017 10:00
Alienware 15 R2 plugged in, not charging [repost]
REPOST - My battery went from healthy to dead in just 1 hour. I didn't finish with the last (deleted) post.
Short story:
In the morning I was on the battery. Later I saw "35% available (plugged in, not charging)". Unplug the laptop, everything died, power button doesn't work, plug the power back, start the laptop and see this:
https://i.imgur.com/dRCMhlR.jpg
Press F2 and check the bios:
https://i.imgur.com/Fc7cMRk.jpg
Check the "Main" Tab, at the power adapter is recognised, but it only says "240W".
Went on Dell's support website, I did a battery test. I passed?!?! [Photo]
Did a motherboard test. I passed again... [Photo]
I did a full test and everything passes the test.
Help! My laptop doesn't work without the power cord being plugged into the wall. It is same as a computer now... The battery is now charging when the laptop is powered off as well.
Here is a battery report created by Windows 10 [Click]
Long Story:
In the morning I was on the battery working and stuff. After some time the battery light started to flash (low battery), I went to get the charger, plug it into the wall and plug it into the laptop. And I saw that the laptop was shut down. I was thinking that it went to sleep. Plugged the power cord, start the laptop. back to work.
Later. Went home, plug the power cord into the laptop, power it on, play games (with cooling pad). Exit game, check notifications, see that the battery icon is not full, put the mouse over: "35% available (plugged in, not charging)". Unplug the laptop, everything died (like cutting a computer power). Press the power button. Nothing. Press again and listen for the hard drive. Nothing.
Plug the power cord, press the button and I see [this], went into the bios, everything looked fine instead of the battery health, [photo]. I started the laptop and I went on Dell's website, I did the battery test, motherboard test and after a full test. All of these passed without problems.
In the morning the battery was fine, I never had problems with it and I never let the laptop plugged over the night but now is dead without power.
Here is a battery report created by Windows 10 [Click]
Troubleshoot:
If the tests didn't work, I went on google and start to read.
I uninstalled the Microsoft AC Adaptor and Microsoft ACPI from Device Manager and after I scanned the computer for changes to allow the Windows to reinstall these drivers. Nothing changed the situation.
I opened the back of the laptop and unplug the battery and the power input cable, hold the power button to clear all the electricity and plug the battery and the power input cable back. Still nothing.
Before I buy a new battery, what can I do to check if the battery is really dead? It just died, the test says it is fine but is not.
robert p
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9.4K Posts
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August 22nd, 2017 05:00
Hi Catalin Alex,
Thanks for posting.
Apologies that your computer is not working the way you wanted it to. Your post does not mention how old your system is, and if this is the original battery or a different one. If it's a replacement battery, was it purchased directly from Dell or someplace else?
Here is some information you may find helpful: http://dell.to/2vZG0Dp
http://dell.to/2vZunwb
robert p
4 Operator
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9.4K Posts
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August 22nd, 2017 08:00
If you read the information on the links I provided, unfortunately it looks like the battery has reached it's end of life. You should purchase another battery from a reputable location, as some people have allegedly had problems with Chinese "knock off" batteries that are not very trustworthy. You might want to purchase from Dell Spare Parts, parts-people.com or Discount Electronics.
LSUFAN51
4 Operator
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6.4K Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 08:00
Please read Alienware 15 R2 Service Manual thoroughly before opening the computer.
Support for Alienware 15 R2 | Manuals & documents | Dell US
LSUFAN51
4 Operator
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6.4K Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 08:00
:emotion-2:
Please run a thorough test on the battery by follow the steps below:
1. Power off the system. Remove all peripherals (except AC adapter) from system
2. Power on system, quickly start tapping the F12 key continuously until you see Preparing one time boot menu in the top right corner of the screen. In the boot menu, stroll down to Diagnostic and then click on it. After quick tests, click on Primary Battery and then Thorough Test Mode.
LSUFAN51
4 Operator
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6.4K Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 08:00
You could Reset the BIOS to Default Values to see if that will make any difference. If that doesn't work, I suggest you drain the residual power of your computer and re-calibrate the battery by following the steps in link below. Instead of keeping the battery out for 2 to 3 hours (as the article suggested), I'd suggest you keep the battery out for 8 hours or overnight.
System battery shows "plugged in not charging" when you ...
Note: Please do this step only if you're comfortable in opening up the computer to remove battery.
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
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August 22nd, 2017 05:00
Hello Robert,
My laptop is 13 months old and the battery is the origina one. Nothing inside the laptop has been changed.
And I can confirm that I'm out of warranty, my battery had a 1-year warranty which expired last month.
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
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August 22nd, 2017 10:00
Now I'm waiting for the price for a battery sold by a company recommended by Dell UK. Meanwhile, I was looking on Amazon, I found few batteries... Do you think Amazon is a good website if I will order a OEM battery ?
Btw, parts people and discount electronics don't have my specific battery.
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 07:00
Are there any other software to test the battery? Is still very hard to believe that it died from nothing. I used it that day and the day before for hours, the capacity was high and it just stopped.
Dell's tests say the battery is not damaged, but the bios(latest version) keeps saying it must be replaced...
Should I try to install an older version of the bios? what are the risks?
robert p
4 Operator
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9.4K Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 07:00
It depends. Some of the Amazon products are sold by resellers (Chinese included) if the product damages your computer or your home, you should make sure you're covered.
LSUFAN51
4 Operator
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6.4K Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 09:00
If all troubleshooting fails, I like to add Ebay to the list as to the search for a new battery. Just make sure, you check the warranty, reviews and returns on the sellers.
alienware r2 battery | eBay
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
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August 23rd, 2017 15:00
Thank you very much for your support @LSUFAN51 !
I went on the Diagnostic from the boot window, my interface looks different but I did the test, it keeps saying "The battery is reaching the end of its usable life" but this was not a surprise for me because the bios give me the error from the first post every time.
About the bios, I reset it to default first time when the problem appeared, update it to the latest version and reset it again, but nothing.
Now I will unplug the battery from the laptop, I will drain the residual power and let it unplugged over night and plug it back in the morning as it said in the article.
I'm still very surprised how well the battery worked but looks like I can't do anything just to buy a new one.
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
1
August 24th, 2017 15:00
I highlighted everything useful for future people.
Thanks for everyone who tried to help me on this topic or the old one which has been deleted.
Catalin Alex
10 Posts
0
August 24th, 2017 15:00
For everyone interested now or in future, I was not able to find a fix for the battery, I have tried everything in the past days. Even Google can't help me with this problem.
So, the only thing for me is to change the battery.
I'm not sure yet if I will spend money on an original Dell battery or I will try a third party one, but from many reviews for laptop batteries, I understood that the third party is not that bad, they just don't have a big brand logo.
This problem really changed how I see dell and their products quality. As I saw on this forum, I'm not the only one with perfect working batteries which just die.