Question How to check/test new laptop battery ?

[hw_user]

I threw away the battery of my Dell E7440 Laptop because it bulged 3 weeks ago. I have been running the laptop without a battery. I finally got a new 34GKR battery today. I plugged the battery in but the laptop cannot detect it. The command prompt says "no battery is detected" and the BIOS says "no battery installed".

How can I tell if the new battery is bad or my laptop is bad?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you leave it plugged in a while so it could charge? Many times they come depleted because they've been sitting on a warehouse shelf forever.

If it's been plugged in longer than an hour then it should be able to be detected at least. What brand is the battery? Where did you order it from? Was it new or used?

Do you own or have access to a volt or multimeter?

 

[USAFRet]

I threw away the battery of my Dell E7440 because it bulged 3 weeks ago. I have been running the laptop without a battery. I finally got a new 34GKR battery today. I plugged the battery in. But the E7440 cannot detect it. The command prompt says no battery is detected and the BIOS says no battery installed. How can I tell if the new battery is bad or my laptop is bad?

Link to what you bought?

 

[hw_user]

Did you leave it plugged in a while so it could charge? Many times they come depleted because they've been sitting on a warehouse shelf forever.

If it's been plugged in longer than an hour then it should be able to be detected at least. What brand is the battery? Where did you order it from? Was it new or used?

Do you own or have access to a volt or multimeter?

I ordered the battery from eBay. It is not a Dell battery. I found out later from reading some Google search results saying that Dell may not detect non-Dell batteries. But it is too late. The tiny battery LED at the top comes on briefly and turns off when I plug in the power adapter. I am not sure if the LED turns off because the battery is fully charged or the battery is not detected.
Yes, I have a multi-meter. I need some help measuring the voltage of the battery before plugging into the laptop and after it is plugged into the laptop.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Unfortunately I don't know exactly how to test your specific laptop battery but you should be able to find a tutorial on testing your specific battery type on Youtube or elsewhere. Honestly though, I'm going to tell you that I haven't had much success with any of the cheap Chinese knockoff replacement laptop batteries on any of the Dell or HP laptops. I haven't had to buy OEM batteries, but something decent like Anker.

 

[Helpful-Kim]

Check Battery Health Using BIOS​

Since the BIOS says "no battery installed," it's possible that the issue is hardware-related:

1. Enter the BIOS:
   • Turn off the laptop, then press F2 during startup to enter BIOS.
2. Check the Battery Information:
   • In the BIOS, navigate to the Battery section (if available).
   • See if there’s any indication of the battery's status, such as its health or whether it's being detected.
   If the BIOS still shows "no battery," it's likely that the issue lies with the battery connection or the motherboard.

---

Reset the Battery Drivers​

Sometimes, the battery drivers might need to be reset or reinstalled to recognize the new battery.

Steps​

1. Uninstall Battery Drivers:
   • Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager.
   • Expand the Batteries section, then right-click on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery and select Uninstall Device.
2. Reboot Your Laptop:
   • Restart the laptop and Windows will attempt to reinstall the battery drivers automatically. After rebooting, check if the battery is detected.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Check Battery Health Using BIOS​

Since the BIOS says "no battery installed," it's possible that the issue is hardware-related:

1. Enter the BIOS:
   • Turn off the laptop, then press F2 during startup to enter BIOS.
2. Check the Battery Information:
   • In the BIOS, navigate to the Battery section (if available).
   • See if there’s any indication of the battery's status, such as its health or whether it's being detected.
   If the BIOS still shows "no battery," it's likely that the issue lies with the battery connection or the motherboard.

---

Reset the Battery Drivers​

Sometimes, the battery drivers might need to be reset or reinstalled to recognize the new battery.

Steps​

1. Uninstall Battery Drivers:
   • Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager.
   • Expand the Batteries section, then right-click on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery and select Uninstall Device.
2. Reboot Your Laptop:
   • Restart the laptop and Windows will attempt to reinstall the battery drivers automatically. After rebooting, check if the battery is detected.

He already said the BIOS doesn't recognize the battery, AND, drivers are necessary for hardware level support in the BIOS. Drivers are for the OS, they are generally not required for anything hardware level in the BIOS.