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Updated RAM, now 20 min battery life...?

S

superman666

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
124
0
MBP 2.4 GHZ 4GB ram (used to be 2G)

Basically, without the power attached, the computer shuts off after around 20 minutes. I can still see that the power is almost full when it shuts off. I started NOTICING the problem after updating the ram, but there is a (small) chance that it started before. I tried removing the battery and holding down the power button for five seconds, and putting it back on without any results. Any advice?
 
Did you calibrate the battery?

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

Cany ou give us more information about your battery status as displayed by system profiler (cycles, capacity etc)?

It seems not normal to me, the macbook should enter sleep at least and not shutdown. Moreover the 20 minutes battery life is also a bit too short...

I doubt the RAM is the problem though. If the calivbration doesn't give any result I think you should have the mac checked by Apple.
 
System Profiler says:
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2091
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2301
Health Information:
Cycle count: 122
Condition: Check battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 200
Voltage (mV): 12587

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 45
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: No
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: Yes

END

About the calibration, I can't really do it because the computer shuts of prematurely. Before the battery is 'actually' fully discharged (about 10-20 minutes) the computer just shuts off.
 
Your battery is dying - your full charge capacity of 2301mA should be more than double that (should be around 5200mA).

Cycle count is ok so contact Apple abut your faulty battery...
 
It seems the capacity reported is a bit low, but should make your mac stay on for more than 20 minutes anyway.

Try the calibration anyway. When it turns itself off try leaving it alone for 12 hours or better a day.
 
I'll try the calibration, and if it doesn't work i'll contact apple. Does installing the RAM yourself void Applecare or something?
 
Is this reasonable...?

This is a follow up to this thread where I asked about my battery. If you don't want to click, I basically figured out that I had a faulty battery because it would shut down without the power chord in after 20 minutes.

I went to the applestore, the genius guy checked it out, and ran this program and on the screen in huge red letters it says 'BAD BATTERY'. He checked my cycle count and everything and said it seemed like he could give me a replacement for free. I told him I have applecare, but he told me that it doesn't cover battery (wear and tear kind of deal). Keep in mind this is what my system profiler looked like:

System Profiler says:
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2091
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2301
Health Information:
Cycle count: 122
Condition: Check battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 200
Voltage (mV): 12587

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 45
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: No
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: Yes

So he looks up my serial and stuff, and says it's not covered and I'll have to pay $130 for a new battery. Considering my cycle count was reasonable, and i've had the computer/battery for JUST over a year, i was really surprised. I guess there's nothing I can do (I bought the battery), but was wondering if this seemed normal/if other people had similar experiences.
 
superman666 said:
I told him I have applecare, but he told me that it doesn't cover battery (wear and tear kind of deal).
Click to expand...

I reckon that's complete bollocks. Wear and tear might be applicable to case parts, but you aren't actually wearing or tearing anything with the battery. If the machine is under a year old, I'd be getting a second opinion about that.

The battery in my 1.83GHz CoreDuo MacBook died 6 months after I bought it, and it was replaced under warranty, for free. I'm still using that battery now, 18 months later, and I'm still easily pulling 3-4 hours of battery life, 5 if I'm frugal and have AirPort turned off. (at the moment, the battery is at 22%, screen at full brightness, 13 tabs open in Safari, and it's giving me about 45 minutes remaining. That works out to be about 3.5 hours from full charge)
 
Do you have to calibrate the battery when you first get your mac if you want better performance?
 
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