Laptops, XPSP2, and Batteries

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Guest

It appears my Compaq 2700US (1GHZ PIII) has only half the time on batteries
it had before I upgraded to XPSP2. Has anybody had the same experience? I
think it is due to the increased usage going on from some hidden services. My
charging light also develops a pulsing in it after charging for about an hour
and does not seem to charge like it does at the start of a session. I think
this is because the increased current draw due to the increased usage is
causing some thermal foldback that cuts off my charger. I can override it by
pushing hard on the socket where the plug (female) inserts into the laptop
but it seems to get harder to do this as the day progresses. I have seen
several other comments that indicate there is a higher current draw due to
the XPSP2 stuff added on. Any help is appreciated.
 
It may be that it is a coincidence your laptop battery is failing.
SP2 does not add any significant current draw or background
services that would affect the battery's performance. It may
be time to purchase a new battery.

HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario Notebook PCs -
Troubleshooting Notebook Battery Power
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&lang=en&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00035814

HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario Notebook PCs -
Maximizing Battery Operating Time
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&lang=en&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00035864

Compaq Notebook PCs - Upgrading to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00237294

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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| It appears my Compaq 2700US (1GHZ PIII) has only half the time on batteries
| it had before I upgraded to XPSP2. Has anybody had the same experience? I
| think it is due to the increased usage going on from some hidden services. My
| charging light also develops a pulsing in it after charging for about an hour
| and does not seem to charge like it does at the start of a session. I think
| this is because the increased current draw due to the increased usage is
| causing some thermal foldback that cuts off my charger. I can override it by
| pushing hard on the socket where the plug (female) inserts into the laptop
| but it seems to get harder to do this as the day progresses. I have seen
| several other comments that indicate there is a higher current draw due to
| the XPSP2 stuff added on. Any help is appreciated.
 
I think you are probably right in the long run - the battery is good for 1200
cycles average and since Dec 2001, at least 900 cycles have occurred.
Guess what I did, I went out to Radio Shack and bought a deoxit progold kit
for $15.00 and sprayed the contacts of the power plug and jacks with the two
step solution in binacca like spray cans. The result was that my charging
rate went back up and I have been operating at least 8 hours with no other
problems.

So I guess the increased CPU usage is not the main problem. Instead it was
all those trips to the bay area and living in Houston that gave me oxidation
of the surfaces of the power jacks.

Sorry I involved your SP2, but, depending on how many "increased security
items " are used, I still maintain it can have an increased rate of power
consumption and maintain that I did not have this problem before SP2. Of
course you could determine this by running a profile of the instances of
battery related problems before and after XPSP2. Also the tech rep at Best
Buy indicated this was an issue when I was frantically searching for a
solution. Based on my survey of your message boards, I still believe there is
a problem which you could deal with effectively by giving out some tips
regarding power saving measures for use of XPSP2 in laptops.

Thanks for the contacts, though...COMPAQ is hard to reach, even in Houston!
 
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