Battery issue with Vaio laptop VGN-NR21J

[vinayrb]

The battery of my laptop does not get charged while the computer is in use.

More details:
1. I was facing a problem with my battery and got it replaced with a new genuine Sony battery (got it verified)
2. When I charge the laptop and it is not being used(in shutdown/power off mode), the battery gets fully charged and I am able to use the laptop on battery when I start.
3. When I connect the laptop to mains and start the laptop then the battery charging happens for anywhere between 15 to 35 mins after which the battery indicator in the bottom right (Windows Vista taskbar) keeps switching between Power & Battery continuously. The battery does not charge. If I shutdown the laptop and keep it for charging then the battery gets fully charged again.

I suspect there is an issue with some software/driver that is not allowing the battery to be charged while power is on. Can you please let me know if there is a solution to this? Will upgrade to Windows 7 resolve this issue?

Thanks,
Vinay

[rich912]

Hi Vinay,

This would appear to be a hardware problem especially as you have replaced the battery which you state is ‘genuine Sony’. Also this would seem to be an intermittent problem and there is no Sony software, that I am aware of, that prevents the battery from charging when connected to AC power – with the exception of Battery Care function (accessible in Vaio Control Center ) If your model has this utility. – This would report battery % charged and state ‘plugged in not charging’ when set level of charge is reached.

 What were the problems you were experiencing with the old battery and, if you still have this, have you tried attaching the old battery to see whether this charges when the computer is booted?

However you can carry out software troubleshooting to hopefully eliminate a controller issue…

Open Device Manager and expand Batteries > Delete all Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Method Battery items listed in the tree (with your model there will probably only be one) > shutdown and reboot – windows should recognise the battery and reinstall necessary drivers. Hopefully, if this is a software issue, the battery will now charge when in use and AC adaptor attached.

If this fails to make a difference you could try booting when the battery is sufficiently charged and then remove the AC adaptor > Shut down and remove the battery > Reconnect the AC adaptor only, reboot, and again delete the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Method Battery item(s) listed in Device Manager > Shutdown > reattach AC adaptor, insert battery and reboot > cross fingers and hope that the battery is charging.

Rich