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2165
Inspiron 660, battery problem.
I have a 4.5 year old Dell Inspiron 660 desktop that just started telling me the battery was low then abruptly shut down. So I replaced the CR2032 coin battery with a Duracell CR2032 and brought Windows up. The battery icon in the taskbar indicated it was 84% charged, then started dropping so I powered down. Upon rebooting a couple of hours later, the problem just repeats. It will stay up from 45 to 60 minutes, but then the low battery shutdown occurs. This seems strange to me for a desktop; it seems like a problem a laptop would have with it's main battery, but it is happening with this tower desktop. The desktop came with Windows 7 Pro when new, but I changed to Windows 10 Home (64 bit) some time ago when I had to replace the hard drive.
So now I need to know if this is a motherboard, power supply, BIOS, or other problem, and how I should proceed. If this is a motherboard problem, I will reluctantly replace this PC, but I hope I can get another 5 months use out of this desktop which has been very reliable up to now. TIA
Mary G
4 Operator
4 Operator
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20.1K Posts
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August 6th, 2018 11:00
Is the computer connected to an UPS battery backup unit? If so detach the USB cable from the computer, uninstall the software and reboot to see if message goes away. You should not connect the unit to the computer or use the UPS software with windows 10. I found an old 2011 post about this. --
Once a USB UPS is connected, Windows Vista and Windows 7 adds configuration similar to that of a laptop with an on-board battery. Once this happens, you can set up a desktop or server's power options in the same way as a laptop.
wpgwpg
20 Posts
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August 6th, 2018 11:00
That's EXACTLY what the problem was. I unpluged the power cord and the UPS cable and plugged the PC into wall power and the icon and the problem went away. Many, many thanks to you and Tesla1856 for the quick and accurate response.
I bought that battery backup when I bought that PC 4.5 years ago, and it was overdue to be replaced. That's a whole lot easier to deal with than a mobo or power supply problem, needless to say! :) I'm headed to the store to get a replacement right now.
Thinking back on it, I can't believe I didn't think about that UPS. I have to say if that low battery message had said it was referring to the UPS it would've been very helpful. I guess I am getting absent minded in my old age. Oh well, getting older beats the alternative, that's for sure. :)
Mary G
4 Operator
4 Operator
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20.1K Posts
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August 6th, 2018 11:00
I answered that old post in 2011 and I had forgotten about my answer. The links were dead but the explanation made sense since you upgraded from Win 7. Glad it worked! Mark it solved when you get a chance.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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August 6th, 2018 11:00
A Windows Desktop computer should not be showing a Battery icon in TaskBar. The CMOS battery does not appear in TaskBar.
An attached UPS-Battery (like APC) is the only thing I can thing of, but @Mary G already covered that.
wpgwpg
20 Posts
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August 6th, 2018 11:00
You know I do have a battery backup, and I believe it has a UPS cable running to the PC. I have to admit to pulling the "dumb user trick" and not thinking about that! That's a lot easier problem to deal with than a motherboard problem too. Thanks, I'll go check that out right now. Stay tuned.