[mikeloeven]

actually i already did what you suggested the battery has no built in gague on the surface actually. but the battery is chemicaly sound if i disable the automatic shutdown on windows the battery will run for about 4 hours although it will show as 0% so the battery works but whatever registers the charge doesent


also this might not be an issue but the computer was dropped a while back one of those "no dad dont open the door on that sid- (crash) ...." moments is it possible that one of the pins on the battery is bent or that the soder point is broken

Edited by mikeloeven, 10 February 2011 - 05:46 PM.

[Advertisements]

BIOS?

actually i already did what you suggested the battery has no built in gague on the surface actually.

Is it a DELL battery? DELL business class (Vostro) batteries have gauges. If it is, it will have a gauge similar to that of this battery. If it isn't, no wonder it is acting up.

This really doesn't smell like an OS problem - install Dell ControlPoint and the Chipset drivers (which you should have already done). If those are installed, and the OS is reporting a bad number, it most likely isn't the OS.

You can also consider running the Dell Diagnostics. Since you reformatted the computer recently and probably deleted the diagnostic partition, you'll have to boot to the Dell Drivers and Utilities CD.

Edited by The Admiral, 10 February 2011 - 05:49 PM.

[The Admiral]

BIOS?

actually i already did what you suggested the battery has no built in gague on the surface actually.

Is it a DELL battery? DELL business class (Vostro) batteries have gauges. If it is, it will have a gauge similar to that of this battery. If it isn't, no wonder it is acting up.

This really doesn't smell like an OS problem - install Dell ControlPoint and the Chipset drivers (which you should have already done). If those are installed, and the OS is reporting a bad number, it most likely isn't the OS.

You can also consider running the Dell Diagnostics. Since you reformatted the computer recently and probably deleted the diagnostic partition, you'll have to boot to the Dell Drivers and Utilities CD.

Edited by The Admiral, 10 February 2011 - 05:49 PM.

[mikeloeven]

that diagnostic partition dissapeared the day after i got this computer the first thing i did was exercise downgrade rights from vista business (that came with the computer) to xp pro

[Log2]

Admiral, the 1520 doesn't support QuickSet or ContolPoint, however my next suggestion was going to be to try installing the chipset driver. Also, you mentioned you reinstalled windows? Did this problem happen before you installed windows?

[mikeloeven]

actually the first driver i install when i set up windows is the wireless card followed by chipset video than audio. after that i check the device manager to fill in any missing devices.

but thats my standard install proceedure no driver left behind.

Edited by mikeloeven, 11 February 2011 - 10:41 AM.

[The Admiral]

Still waiting on:

BIOS battery report. Check in the BIOS to see what the BIOS reports as the battery level.
Dell Diagnostics. Since you reformatted the computer, you will have to boot to the Dell Drivers and Utilities CD. Alternatively, you can download it from support.dell.com.

[Log2]

1. Desktop System Software (DSS) or Notebook System Software (NSS) - A vital utility that provides critical updates and patches for the operating system. If you are reinstalling the operating system or updating all the computer’s drivers, it is imperative that this software be installed first. Currently, the DSS and NSS are not required for systems with Windows Vista installed. This is located under the System and Configuration Utilities Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
2. Chipset - Helps Windows control system board components and controllers. This is located under the Chipset Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
3. Video Adapter - Enhances video performance. This is located under the Video Adapter Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
4. Network Interface Card (NIC) - Enhances the network controller for Internet or network access. This is located under the Network Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
5. Audio Adapter - Enables and enhances the audio controller. This is located under the Audio Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
6. Modem - Allows dialup capability. This is located under the Communication Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
7. Wireless Network Card - Enables and enhances the wireless network controller. This is located under the Network Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
8. Touchpad, Pointer, Trackstick, Mice, and Keyboards - Enhances the pointing device features. This is located under the Mouse & Keyboards Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
9. Other Devices
* Bluetooth® Module
This is located under the Communication Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
* Dell Wireless Mobile Broadband Cards
This is located under the Communication Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.
* PCMCIA/Smartcard controller
This is located under the Security Category on the Drivers and Downloads page.

That's the order the drivers should be installed in. The System Software is a very very important driver and it needs to be installed before the chipset. I've seen so many errors occur from an incorrect driver install. At Dell we called it a dirty install. You can download all the up to date drivers from the dell web site

[mikeloeven]

i worked very hard to scrub the (shudder) DELLNESS from my computer i am not letting that disk anywhere near my drive

but the bios is incorrectly reporting the battery level as it refuses to let me turn on the computer without pressinhg f1 to bypass the battery safeguards

Edited by mikeloeven, 11 February 2011 - 09:39 PM.

[Log2]

Alright, now I would take The Admiral's advice and run the diagnostics from dell.

If the diags are somehow still on your hard drive, you can boot into it from the computer turned off, by holding down the Fn key and pressing the power button and holding them down for 5 seconds, or if you have the diag cd, use that and press F12 to change the boot sequence temporarily to CD/DVD, or go to the dell website and download the diags and burn them to a cd and then repeat the 2nd step.

Let the computer run it's PSA test, when it says, The psa has found no errors, would you like to run the extended test. Choose no, if the diags are still on your computer, or you're using a cd, a new window will come up, if the diags have been removed, the computer will reboot.

In the new window there should be a full arsenal of diagnostics you can run, there should be one called battery, or motherboard then battery or something along those lines. The test shouldn't take too long, but at this moment it does seem to be hardware related as opposed to a chipset error, or a firmware error

[mikeloeven]

ik i burned and ran the diagnostics and i got an error that my computer was not supported. are there multiple versions of the diagnostic disk amd did i download the old version???

Edited by mikeloeven, 12 February 2011 - 10:37 AM.

[Log2]

Yea, sorry, I should have mentioned that you have to download it from your product page: http://support.dell....n&catid=&impid=

[mikeloeven]

ok the battery health test gave me 3600:0853

Primary_battery - the battery can not provide sufficient power (but that is the lie i have been trying to find a answer for)

[The Admiral]

If the BIOS or battery shows that the battery is less than 10% when it is actually 60%, it is a faulty battery. The Vostro 1520 is almost 2 years old and it is due for a battery replacement.

Edited by The Admiral, 13 February 2011 - 02:09 PM.

[mikeloeven]

is there anything that can be done to reset the battery's internal electronics like flashing the power meter back to factory settings. because chemecaly the cells are all functioning perfectly but not the communication between the battery and the computer

when i say resetting the battery i am refering to actually modyfing the internal electronics kinda like making a pandora battery for a PSP but changing the 0 value of the voltage meter instead of the serial number

i highly doubt this can be done but it is worth asking

Edited by mikeloeven, 13 February 2011 - 03:54 PM.