Running the system on AC power with the battery installed does stress the battery and can appreciably shorten its lifespan, yes. 

OK its been two weeks since I posted. Now the battery only charges to 24% of the original capacity according to the powerfcg -energy report.  The computer will run on battery for about 1 minute. Am I the only one with this problem?  (My old Inspiron 6000 9 cell from July 2005 still lasts for nearly 2 hours)

Battery life can vary greatly. My daughter's Inspiron 6000's battery was still giving about 70% after three years of use, with the battery installed 100% of the time. My wifes I1705 is even better after 2 1/2 years, and shee uses it on battery a lot. The "don't leave the battery in the computer when you are not using the battery" has been stated by many, including "experts", is just not true. Many say the battery experiences high temperatures from the computer, but this also isn't true. The main variable to life is the charging voltage. A very slightly high charging voltage can kill the batter fast. A very highly supported mode is to charge to battery to 40-50% and put it away for long life. Maybe, but so what. If you don't need a battery, buy a desktop. Having a battery in place is a low cost uninterruptible power supply.  One thing to remember, if a Lithium battery is discharged and put away, the battery will discharge further, and may not be rechargable. The Smart Circuity in the battery monitors the voltage, and prevents a recharge because of possible explosions.

See this Battery Info

Time for a new battery it sounds like. We have tons a laptops at my works and some battery's can last a few years and other about 1yr. I find the best place to get another battery is on ebay, way cheaper than Dell or wherever MFG you have.

Thanks

I think it is just your battery.  Just 3 months past my battery's one  year warranty it stopped charging.  Currently it sits reading 8% and not charging.  I think it was a batch of batteries purchased for this series of XPS that was engineered to fail outside of the warranty.  Consider yourself a victim of having been sold a bad part.  My wife's Inspiron battery lasted four years before hers had this problem.  I would try and make it a more public issue to change Dell's mind.  If Dell meant to sell us a one-year battery, they should have said so.

Hi there.

I've had exactly the same issue with my XPS 1530 - 4 months past the one year warranty, the battery stopped charging.

I don't think that this is acceptable, particularly on a fairly high-end system.  In the UK, goods must be 'fit for purpose' (s 14 Sale of Goods Act 1979).  I think it can be argued that component failure after 16 months implies that the XPS was not 'fit for purpose' and a claim may be brought for repair or replacement so long as it is made with 6 years from the date of purchase (5 years in Scotland).  The counter argument is that failure of the battery occurred through normal wear and tear, but I would maintain that with average use, a laptop should not break down within 2 years from the date it was bought.

Any thoughts?

Chris

Your reasoning is faulty.  If manufacturers were certain that batteries (or notebooks) would not break down for two years, they'd have no problem warranting them that long by default.  The fact is that batteries DO wear out, and wearout time has as much to do with how the system was used (deep discharge the battery or never run the system away from AC power, for instance, and you will shorten the lifespan) as with the design and manufacture of the battery.

Consumer-derived statistics say that 20-25% of all notebooks will fail within three years, regardless of brand.

If your law gives you recourse, take it - you'll have a better chance if the failure to charge has something to do with other than the battery itself.  I doubt the law would cover the brake pads on your car for two years, for instance - they are, like batteries, repair parts not designed or expected to last the life of the car (or system).