laptop not used for three years, is there any problem with the battery?

[brannsiu]

I have a Lenovo laptop that has not been used for three years, yes, three years, not until recently I didn't know that I should pay special attention to the battery. The laptop is put into the bag and put in damp place, it's now yes, almost going to be three years. What is the next time I should do when not used for long time? Is it chance that there could be leakage of chemicals from it? I want to start using it again a few days later, but I am worried.

 

[alceryes]

Laptops/electronics should NEVER be stored in a 'damp place'. First thing to do would be to remove it from the damp place and let it completely dry out. Maybe let it get warm in indirect/filtered sunlight for a few hours. (not hot - just warm)

If there's any visual signs of battery leakage DO NOT try to turn it on. You first need to take it apart to assess where the leak got to, clean it up (careful - it's acid), and put in a new battery.

There's a decent chance that the battery will be completely dead and unable to charge. You can test this after drying it out by plugging it in for a couple hours and then trying to turn it on while plugged in.


At the 3 year point, unless it was a top-o-the-line laptop back then, you may be better off getting a new laptop than spending any money on a replacement battery.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

A battery left to simply sit for 3 years without regular charge/discharge cycles will self discharge to the point that it will not accept a charge no matter how long it's left on a charger. And as said above, storing electronics in a damp place is simply asking for trouble. After 3 years in such an environment I'd be surprised if it even attempted to power up.

 

[brannsiu]

Laptops/electronics should NEVER be stored in a 'damp place'. First thing to do would be to remove it from the damp place and let it completely dry out. Maybe let it get warm in indirect/filtered sunlight for a few hours. (not hot - just warm)

If there's any visual signs of battery leakage DO NOT try to turn it on. You first need to take it apart to assess where the leak got to, clean it up (careful - it's acid), and put in a new battery.

There's a decent chance that the battery will be completely dead and unable to charge. You can test this after drying it out by plugging it in for a couple hours and then trying to turn it on while plugged in.


At the 3 year point, unless it was a top-o-the-line laptop back then, you may be better off getting a new laptop than spending any money on a replacement battery.

Sorry it was typo I was typing something in an email at the same time and my brain messed up. I mean it was stored in cool place without sunlight

 

[USAFRet]

No one can state the status of YOUR battery.
It might be fine, it might be dead.

Having sat unused for 3 years, leaning towards dead.

But, you have it. It will cost nothing to just try it.

 

[johnbl]

let the laptop come up to room temperature in a dry place for a day or two. Then attempt to apply AC power and let it charge (or fail to charge) I would not leave it alone in case it catches fire.
see if the battery will take a charge. After a few hours of charging, I would then attempt to boot the device into windows and start the 3 years of updates. Some times the battery backup of BIOS memory will fail but those batteries should last 5 to 7 years.

 

[brannsiu]

A battery left to simply sit for 3 years without regular charge/discharge cycles will self discharge to the point that it will not accept a charge no matter how long it's left on a charger. And as said above, storing electronics in a damp place is simply asking for trouble. After 3 years in such an environment I'd be surprised if it even attempted to power up.

I

let the laptop come up to room temperature in a dry place for a day or two. Then attempt to apply AC power and let it charge (or fail to charge) I would not leave it alone in case it catches fire.
see if the battery will take a charge. After a few hours of charging, I would then attempt to boot the device into windows and start the 3 years of updates. Some times the battery backup of BIOS memory will fail but those batteries should last 5 to 7 years.

I started the laptop again last night, for the first time, after a complete 3 years. It didn't charge when connected to AC but when it is powered ON, it charged, but it took a long time to stay at 0% charged but after 10 minutes or 20 it charges up again, I didn't spend every second looking at the status but it was like the % charged didn't go up proportionally at first, i.e. it came up to 9% quickly but then it became steadily. There are two batteries in this laptop, one external and one internal, the second battery I am not sure about which one, its status said it was charging, but after half an hour or longer it kept at 0%. I then turned off the laptop but there was no light showing that it was charging, after a few minutes I turned if ON again it then became 5% (but not too long ago it showed that it was 0%). Then it charged steadily.

Does it sound normal or odd? For both batteries they kept at 0% for long time at first but then charged up again after I turned off the device, was it just a coincidence?

Is there any software I can use to test the health of the batteries?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The batteries are dead

 

[brannsiu]

The batteries are dead

How do you know?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

How do you know?

40+ years experience. I've seen this literally thousands of times.

 

[brannsiu]

40+ years experience. I've seen this literally thousands of times.

but it charged....
any software to test the health of the batteries?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

But it didn't charge properly or fully, and likely self discharged almost immediately after power was removed. ALL batteries age out. The rechargables used in laptops only have a useful life of 3 to 4 years when properly cared for, and they begin aging the moment they are manufactured. Yours are dead.

 

[brannsiu]

But it didn't charge properly or fully, and likely self discharged almost immediately after power was removed. ALL batteries age out. The rechargables used in laptops only have a useful life of 3 to 4 years when properly cared for, and they begin aging the moment they are manufactured. Yours are dead.

batteries for laptop only have a useful life of 3 to 4 years when properly cared for ????

Is it this bad?

Then next time is it better to avoid buying a laptop with internal batteries? My laptop is Lenovo which has two batteries, one removable and one internal.

by the way, so now is it just fine to keep using the laptop with dead batteries on AC, or should I find someone to help take out the internal battery? Will it leak anything over time when dead?

 

[USAFRet]

batteries for laptop only have a useful life of 3 to 4 years when properly cared for ????

Is it this bad?

Then next time is it better to avoid buying a laptop with internal batteries? My laptop is Lenovo which has two batteries, one removable and one internal.

Replace the 'removable' with a new Lenovo battery.

But yes, 3 years is about right for a laptop battery.
Less, if not regularly charged.