Microsoft ACPI driver for my laptop Battery acting up?

Hi guys

Just a few hours ago my laptop was warning me that I needed to charge my battery because it was below 10% and so I got the chance to plug in the power adapter only after the OS stated that it was going to start sleep mode. Keep in mind that I’m dual booting my laptop to use Ubuntu 11.04 when this happened. After having charged the battery for a while I turn the computer back on but it showed that it was at 1% yet the light on my laptop indicated it was charging and the OS stated that as well. I then restarted my computer but this time I logged into Windows Vista Home Basic and it also reflected that it was at 1% with the power adapter plugged in! It does state that it’s charging but remains at 1%.

Now I have tried a couple of things. First I took out the battery, turned the laptop upside down while holding the power button and then put the battery back in. This seemed to work except that now it says 99% charged but it stays there even when the adapter is no longer plugged in! Then I tried going into Device Manager and uninstalled the Microsoft ACPI driver and installed it again and it still shows that it’s at 99%. Now I think its awesome that my computer seems to be magically powered on after even removing the power adapter but when its really dying I only get the "plug in your adapter" message after it’s down to it's critical point.

Any suggestions?

BTW, this laptop is six years old making the battery old. The reason why I think it’s software related is because Ubuntu and Vista are both stating it’s either completely dead or completely charged.

 

Ubuntu and Windows use DIFFERENT drivers for determining battery levels. There is circuitry built into the battery which is what communicates with those drivers to tell you the battery status. It's likely this circuitry is acting up, and not the drivers, as you're having an identical issue on two different OS's. If you're not planning on buying another laptop soon, I'd suggest replacing the battery (aftermarket "unofficial" batteries usually run about half the price, BUT they also often don't show proper battery levels within an OS either).

 

Thanks. I was hoping this would fix itself but that hasn't been the case. I did find one for $20 and it should be on its way soon. Crossing both fingers that will solve the problem.