17" MBP 2.4 Ghz Will Not Boot Without Battery

[groove-agent]

Hey all,

My 17" MBP (2.4 Ghz Santa Rosa) has given me nothing but problems since I owned it. Recently my battery stopped holding a charge, and thus I could only get 15 minutes out of it. I figured since I had this battery over a year, it was time for a new one anyway. Last week however, I discovered that the battery was swelling up. It's at the point where it's swollen about 2 cm out the bottom of the laptop.

I've ordered a new battery, but am still waiting for it to arrive. To be save, I've removed the battery, but have been noticing quite a few problems with my mac without it in there.

The first thing I noticed is that my 3d video performance has halved. There was a time when I would remove my battery to keep the unit cool and didn't notice any performance hit.

The second thing is my computer will not boot without the battery in it. When I hold down the power button, the led on my mouse and memory stick flash on and off as long as I hold the power button down. However, the computer will not turn on without the battery.

If anyone has a same machine, it would be wonderful if they could test this. All you need to do is shut off your computer, pull the battery out, then try and boot the machine with only the AC plugged in.

Thanks for your time.

 

[SFStateStudent]

What's your cycle count? I think the cycle count must be below 300 and they will replace yours with a new one...

 

[GGJstudios]

Well, this will explain why performance is reduced when running on AC power without the battery, but I'm not sure why it won't boot up on AC alone.

 

[groove-agent]

What's your cycle count? I think the cycle count must be below 300 and they will replace yours with a new one...

Darn, it's at 330. Still it shouldn't be bulging and look like it's ready to explode.

 

[anth]

Oh I bet they'll replace it for free! Especially if you bring the bulging battery into an Apple Store... Watch the Geniuses duck for cover!

But seriously, I doubt they would want you to leave with a potentially dangerous battery and will hopefully replace it. Not out of the goodness of their hearts - but to cover their posteriors.

 

[kastenbrust]

Oh I bet they'll replace it for free! Especially if you bring the bulging battery into an Apple Store... Watch the Geniuses duck for cover!

But seriously, I doubt they would want you to leave with a potentially dangerous battery and will hopefully replace it. Not out of the goodness of their hearts - but to cover their posteriors.

Walk into an Apple store, put it next to a massive mug of coffee and plug it in, start encoding a video in Handbrake, then ask a genius to look at your bulging battery. I'd be surprised if they didn't evacuate the store, you'll definitely get a new battery.

 

[sascha h-k]

try coolbook, maybe it starts also without battery ..

running at fullspeed without battery works !

 

[pyromaniaque]

Put the battery in. Easy fix.

 

[groove-agent]

I just had a thought. There are two power supplies out there, a 45 watt, and an 85 watt. Originally I had the 85W. The thing was huge, so I bought a 45 watt which seems to work fine (my original 85 watt's connecting cable got too hot and melted). It would make sense that this is the reason why my laptop wont start without the battery since the adapter might not have enough wattage by itself to start it up. I should track down an 85 W power adapter and try booting my machine with it.