MacBook Pro turns off if not plugged in?!?!?

[alwaysanita]

I have had my MacBook Pro since May 2007. It has been working fine up until a few months ago.

I will have nearly full, or fully battery and the computer will turn off, and will not turn back on unless I plug the charger in. If the charger is unplugged for 5 minutes, the computer completely shuts down. So basically I cannot use the computer unless it is plugged in. It is starting to become a pain because sometimes I need it when I am in a place without an outlet.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[P99]

re-calibrate the battery?

 

[miles01110]

Or just get a new one. Battery, that is.

 

[alwaysanita]

Do you think it is just the battery? Is there a way to check?

 

[alwaysanita]

I took the battery out and pressed the button. All 5 green lights lit up.

 

[P99]

have you done any calibration? AFAIK, battery % arent always accurate unless it is calibrated per apple's suggestion.

"The battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate and to keep the battery operating at maximum efficiency. You should perform this procedure when you first use your computer and then every few months"

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

 

[TAJones99]

It has to be the battery if it works fine plugged in to the power source.

 

[alwaysanita]

I will try and calibrate it today. Will it work the same if I calibrate it in sleep mode? If I leave the computer on and use it while draining the battery, the computer will shut off before the battery drains...

I did noticed something, when I click on the battery charge icon in the top right of the screen, it says

"Replace Now"
Battery Charged
Power Source: Adapter

So I guess if the calibration doesn't work then I am getting a new battery. Hopefully that will fix it.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[TAJones99]

If the replace message is there you just might just need a new battery check out amazon before you go to the apple store to buy one unless you still have applecare then it will be replaced for free.

 

[RITZFit]

have you checked you "full charge capacity" under "power" in the system profiler? new they're supposed to be around 5500 mAh

 

[moel]

It's the battery.

<Gregory House accent on>

More specifically it's a 2 year old battery that you've used pretty much every day without fail and ripped through the 500 odd good cycles a Li-Ion battery has.

<Gregory House accent off>