do I have a dead battery?

[bill4588]

I went to open my Macbook a few minutes ago and it had somehow turned off (and the power cable was not plugged in). I pressed the power button and it wouldn't turn on, which I thought was weird since it had over 35% battery life left the last time I used it. So I plugged it in and powered it up, and looked at the battery meter in the toolbar to see a battery with an x in it, which should mean that I have no battery attached but it is clearly on at the moment. I tried turning it off and taking out the battery - didn't work. Does this mean I have a dead battery or is there a simple way to fix this?

 

[mklos]

So have you tried reseating the battery? You said you took it out but didn't mention putting it back in.

 

[gauchogolfer]

In addition to the above comment, which is a good idea, you might try resetting the PRAM (power management stuff). This is often a culprit in flaky battery readings.

 

[bill4588]

yes i put the battery back in and just tried resetting the pram and that didnt work either. i also noticed that when i press the button on the battery, none of the lights light up. at this point i think it's safe to say that the battery is dead but I may be wrong...

 

[mklos]

That being said, I would either take your MacBook to an Apple Retail Store if you have one near by. If not, then its time to call AppleCare and see what they can do. They should replace it under warranty free of charge as long as you give them the old one back.