Is there any hope?

I have a Macbook from 2009 (the one with the battery you can remove yourself). I lent it to my daughter for about 7 months and have recently got it back. Two days ago while charging the battery I suddenly got the message "Battery Is Not Charging". Although the green light is on showing the power cord is connected, it will not actually charge and the battery is stuck at 86%.

I questioned my daughter about her use of the Mac and she admitted that in 7 months of daily use she only ever actually switched it off ONCE. She said that she'd just leave it on all the time and that she "assumed" it would go into sleep mode after a few minutes of non-use (she didn't actually put it into sleep mode or close the lid etc). With this in mind I am wondering if the battery is dead?

That said the battery is showing as being in "Good condition." This is the battery info. Do you think buying a new battery might be the solution?:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number:
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3492
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4081
Health Information:
Cycle count: 221
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12039


Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: N

The blasted thing is out of warranty so I may have to just buy a new battery. The thing I don't understand is if it's dead why doesn't it show up as dead on coconut battery?

How can you actually tell when a battery is dead?

Can I take it into the Apple Store even though I've got no Applecare and its not under warranty? Or will they just tell me to eff off?

Thanks for that. I've tried all these tips - SMC, draining battery, unplugging it etc. Nothing is working. I just ran Coconut Battery and this is exactly what it says:

Current Charge: 3492 MAh
Maximum Charge: 4081 mAh
(85%)

Current Capacity: 4081 mAh
Maximum Capacity: 5020 mAh
(81%)

Battery loadcycles - 221

81% capacity seems poor for 221 load cycles

back in my PC days I'd leave the laptop on all day every day and within about a year the battery would be completely and utterly dead. I presumed Macs respond in the same way to this sort of use.

GGJstudios said:

In the link that ECUpirate44 posted, under the section called CHARGING, you'll see instructions for troubleshooting your MagSafe adapter. I'd take a look at that and reset the SMC again (make sure you use the proper procedure, as there are different procedures for removable vs built-in batteries).

Not considering how the battery was treated.

Click to expand...

Good point! I would like to simply go ahead and buy a new battery. My only reason for hesitation is I am confused by the statistics. If my battery is actually dead or near-dead, why is it not showing as dead on Coconut Battery?