Second HDD cuts battery life in half

[NovemberWhiskey]

Is it normal for the second HDD in the optical drive spot to cut your battery life in half?

I was getting 6-7 hours after i just unplugged, but now it reads 3 hrs. No other changes. I don't even think the second HDD is spinning right now.

 

[midgetsanchez]

def. doesn't seem right. have you tried calibrating it/letting the battery actually run until it dies?

i'm concerned because I plan on selling my 17" and getting a new 13" instead (I'm a student, had the 17 for a year and it's awesome and all but honestly it's a little too much to carry around everywhere). I intend on getting an X-25m 80GB ssd and a 500gb hdd in the optibay.

from my knowledge, the hdd in the optibay shouldn't be spinning all the time (unless you have a program accessing something on there). also I'm pretty sure hdd's don't eat up THAT much power (enough to cut your battery time in half...) something is definitely up.

My 2009 17" says 3:43 (4 hours) of power which is extremely odd. It even said "service battery" once. I may have to get it checked out...

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

My battery has been very unpredictable since I installed my X25m. I am pretty sure the SSD has even decreased my battery life, despite what everyone says an SSD is supposed to do. I am not sure if it is just my bad fortune.

After installing this second HDD, my battery life is even more unpredictable.

 

[sn0warmy]

As the previous poster mentioned, make sure you calibrate your battery by letting it run all the way down and shut itself off. Then let it sit plugged in for 5+ hours before turning it back on.

I installed my X25-M into my MBP before I even turned it on for the first time. I immediately ran the battery calibration and I consistently get ~8 of life under standard conditions.

I'm also concerned about your experience as I wanted to run a second HDD in an Optibay drive.