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I am using a HP Pavilion and Ubuntu 11.10. I have been using Ubuntu for about a year.

Recently (in Nov or there about), I noticed my battery never charges fully no matter how long it has been plugged in. I thought it was a problem with the power pack. However, after changing it, the problem is still persisting.

I upgraded to 11.10 form 11.04 at about the same time so I do not know if this is a software or hardware issue.

How do I solve this?

This problem has been written about in various forms

Laptop battery not charging after update?.

Please help me or find someone that can.

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2 Answers 2

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If you suspect its a software issue and that it never occurred in previous versions of ubuntu, I would boot your computer with a LiveCD of 10.04/10.10/11.04 and leave your power-pack plugged in.

If the problem persists this would indicate a hardware issue.

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  • No one seems to know the answer askubuntu.com/questions/72654/…
    – Oo Nwoye
    Jan 18, 2012 at 7:13
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    ... did you do what I asked? Does your power pack charge when booted from a live 10.04 cd?
    – fossfreedom ♦
    Jan 18, 2012 at 9:29
  • 10.04? I am using 11.10.
    – Oo Nwoye
    Jan 19, 2012 at 14:29
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    I'm asking you to boot from a live CD - it doesnt matter what version - just anything other than 11.10. If you leave the machine plugged in whilst booted from the live CD, does your battery charge correctly?
    – fossfreedom ♦
    Jan 19, 2012 at 14:39
  • Ok. I will do that now. I did not know what you meant. i.e, use another version without having to install it.
    – Oo Nwoye
    Jan 19, 2012 at 14:52
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A fairly common feature in new (within two years old) laptops is a battery buffer that stops the battery filling right up to the top. They do this to preserve the overall lifespan of the battery. Have a look in the BIOS settings and see if there's anything suggesting that. There might also be a battery calibration test that can be done from BIOS.

If that's not the case, it could easily be hardware. It certainly does make sense to test the software but I've seen laptop batteries die a lot faster than 12 months from constant trickle-charging. You might want to step through what you can on HP's help page.

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