laptop battery

The battery on my Asus U6S laptop is just over three years old. Unsurprisingly, it can barely hold a charge anymore, in part because the person who used it most (I'm looking at you, Mrs. Hassle-Free PC) kept it plugged in all the time. As I've mentioned in the past, that's a surefire way to reduce a battery's longevity and capacity.

If you have used a laptop computer, you are aware that they generate a substantial amount of heat. The battery is one of the components that generates the most heat, and in the case of specific batteries from HP, the heat may be enough to spark a fire or cause significant injury. That is why HP has expanded a recall to include an additional 54,000 batteries.

Microsoft is investigating reported issues with Windows 7 and notebook battery life. The issue seems sporadic, but fairly widespread. It is unclear whether affected systems are simply misreporting the battery life, or if the battery capacity is actually being permanently affected.

HP has recalled Lithium-Ion batteries used in some of its laptops, as they pose a fire hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Thursday.

Hewlett-Packard will begin selling on Monday laptop batteries that are guaranteed to last three years.

Apple Wednesday confirmed that it will charge US$179 to swap out the new MacBook Pro's built-in battery if it fails, but said that the swap would be a same-day service at its retail stores.