Is my 2009 Macbook... dying?

[bungiefan89]

I love my Macbook.

I bought it with my own money almost four years ago. I love its soft and curvy plastic exterior, its rubbery bottom and its lovely screen and trackpad.

But these days, my beloved Macbook feels like its dying. The battery can only hold a charge for about three hours these days, and it will last for less than two hours if I play YouTube videos for any significant amount of time.

The battery health currently reads at 79.1% after 519 cycles, and I seem to remember a time when getting six hours of battery life was not uncommon.

Right now I'm just wondering what I should do. I have my heart set on a top-of-the-line Macbook Air if/when they come out this summer, but I'm also wondering how far back a new battery for my Macbook would set me back?

UPDATE:

Mere minutes after I posted this thread last night, I was running the battery down on my Macbook so I could recalibrate it. When the battery was at roughly 18 percent charge with an estimated 30 minutes of juice left, my baby just shut down. No warning prompt, just instant black screen and the sound of a computer shutting down. This has me concerned...

 

[Weaselboy]

You can get a new battery for about $100 at http://www.ifixit.com

I would get a new battery because when you go to sell it with a near death battery you will get less money for it anyway.

 

[bungiefan89]

You can get a new battery for about $100 at http://www.ifixit.com

I would get a new battery because when you go to sell it with a near death battery you will get less money for it anyway.

Just $100 for a new battery? That sounds quite reasonable, and I'd be happy to give ifixit my money.

Especially after what happened late last night with the unexpected shutdown.

 

[Altemose]

I would buy an Apple battery. The shutdown seems like the battery is not calibrated. I would now charge to 100% and do it again. This time it should report correctly when it will die.

 

[Alkaid]

It definitely sounds like a battery issue. My 07' Macbook did the same thing and taking it in showed that the battery was dying. Luckily, the battery wasn't even a year old, so I got it replaced for free (it wasn't an Apple brand, needless to say).

It also helped me to learn that you shouldn't run your computer on AC power all the time, as well, so there is that…

Hopefully a new battery will do the trick for your machine as well.

 

[bungiefan89]

I would buy an Apple battery. The shutdown seems like the battery is not calibrated. I would now charge to 100% and do it again. This time it should report correctly when it will die.

Yeah, the previous night, after my baby's power went completely out, I let her sit overnight while I slept (much more than the 5 hours needed for recalibration).

Before the battery died, it was reading at 79% battery health. When I turned it on this morning after a full recallibration and full recharge, battery health had dropped to 75%.

Yeah, I'm pretty much just going to buy a new battery to tide me over until Apple comes out with new Macbook Airs this summer. This is getting wonky.

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It also helped me to learn that you shouldn't run your computer on AC power all the time, as well, so there is that…

Yeah! I know that too. I've had this thing plugged in when I'm not using it, but she's unplugged a LOT. In fact, over the four years I've owned her, my Macbook has gone through over 519 cycles on the battery, so I think it's definitely time for a new one.

Thanks to everyone for all the help!