Plugged In, Not Charging Weirdness

[bingefeller]

Hi guys,

I was using my laptop off the battery this morning as I forgot to turn it on at the mains.  The battery pack was still connected to the computer, it just wasn't turned on via the mains.  When I did turn the mains switch on, whilst the AC adapter was still connected, I noticed the battery icon said "plugged in, not charging."  Funny thing is that the battery did appear to be charging! 

If I have the computer running off the mains, then plug out the plug on the side of the computer, to use it on the battery, then I plug it back in it always seems to say "plugged in, charging."

Is this behaviour normal or do you think it's a sign of an impending failure on my battery>?

[rich912]

Hi bingefeller,

What is the % available showing when you hover the pointer over (or click) the battery icon in the system tray?

If you have Battery Care activated the default will be to charge to 80% only – the legend will state 80% available not charging.

To check whether Battery Care is enabled open Vaio Control Center > Power Management > Battery Charge Functions. To alter the settings click the Advanced button.

Rich

[bingefeller]

Hi Rich,

The % is now at 100%. 

I tried checking Battery Care but I don't have it for some reason in my Vaio Control Centre....  I go to Power Management and all I see it Power Options and it says "Configure energy-saving settings on your computer"  THere is an "Advanced" button, and when I press that it takes me to Windows 7 power management control panel. 

[rich912]

Hi bingefeller,

Which Vaio model do you have and is it still running the original operation system?

Rich

[bingefeller]

Hi Rich,

I have the VPCEJ2B1E.  It is still running the original OS - Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1.

The battery is showing 100% - fully charged.

[rich912]

Hi bingefeller,

I'm uncertain whether this is connected with the problem but your model should have the battery care utility. Follow this link and type 'battery care' in the search field for confirmation.

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VPCEJ2B1E_B/tips-and-solutions

To try and get this working click the download tap on that link and expand pre-installed drivers and utilities. Download and install Sony Shared Library and Sony Notebook Utilities and install in that order.

Rich

[bingefeller]

Hi Rich,

Apologies for not replying to this thread sooner.

I was using the Laptop off the battery tonight and it ran down to 40%.  I plugged it in and it has the "plugged in, not charging" message.  As I said earlier - the battery actually is charging as the power has now increased to 45%....

I didn't download anything from the link you gave as it's kind of confusing to be honest.  I'm worried that I might do something wrong..  Is there a way I can tell if I have the Sony Shared Library on my machine?

[rich912]

Hi bingefeller,

Sony Shared Library doesn't leave an individual install footprint and is not listed in Control Panel under Programs and Features. It does create the following files:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\Version.txt

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\Sony Utilities\Data.prof

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\Sony Utilities\Match.prof

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\Sony Utilities\SnyUtils.dll

Whether or not these files are listed there is no guaranteee that the installation of this or the Notebook Utilities  is not corrupt. I have never heard of anyone encountering problems after re-install the utilities suggested, however for peace of mind create a manual restore point prior to proceeding.

Rich

[bingefeller]

Hi Rich,

I installed everything in the order you suggested and I still don't have the Battery Care function!!!

All I see is this:

Any ideas?

Just to let you know - I was getting the "Plugged in, not charging" message last night again but this morning it is up to 100% power...

Message was edited by: bingefeller

Message was edited by: bingefeller

[rich912]

Hi bingefeller,

I am uncertain of the way forward on this so have asked Support for some input.

In the meantime can you confirm that the SFEP driver is properly installed and reported as working?

To do this open Control Panel > Device Manager > expand Human Interface Devices. You should see ‘Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device’.

Rich