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Inspiron 1501 - battery cannot be identified
Hi there.
My daughter has an Inspiron 1501 that comes up with the following message when booting up
Warning, the battery cannot be identified. The system will be unable to charge this battery.
The machine boots and works normally if I ignore the message. It also boots and works fine and without the message if the battery is removed.
As far as I know, the battery is the one that came with the system (Module GD761, 11.1v, 53WH). The adapter (PA12 family) is correct for the battery according to the troubleshooting wizard.
The battery shows five green lights when the status button is pressed. This is true when the battery is in the machine and also when it is removed.
When the machine is on battery power only, it lasts no more than ten minutes before going to sleep. When asleep, the battery still shows five green lights.
The machine is on BIOS 2.1.0 and I've worked through the troubleshooting wizard to the point where it is suggesting flashing the BIOS. I've never done this before, and am reluctant to go down that route and risk causing other problems.
Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing the problem and whether there is a solution?
Many thanks.
Wight Dave
ejn63
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June 12th, 2008 21:00
Do not flash the BIOS without a working battery - that's an open invitation to a dead mainboard. It's also unlikely to fix the problem.
If you know someone with another 1501, try their battery - if it works, yours is bad; replace it. If not, you've likely a bad mainboard.
If you don't have another battery to try, at $150 it's a cheaper first try than a replacement mainboard by a factor of about 2.5.
WightDave
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June 14th, 2008 18:00
Thanks for the advice Diamond. Will try and get hold of another battery as suggested
Wight Dave