# Laptop won't run on AC power without battery.



## A.Legend.of.Psy (Aug 14, 2006)

One year later, I'm back with another problem! I just hope this is the correct forum...

I purchased the laptop I'm using about two years ago. For those two years, I have never removed the battery, but have used AC power nearly always, with the exception of a few quick trips and a couple of hours once every week or two. Initially, the battery lasted about 2 hours on a good day, with Wi-Fi enabled. A few weeks ago, that was reduced, seemingly instantly, to about 5-10 minutes. Upon doing some research (which I should've done when I first got the laptop), I'm pretty certain that the battery is about to kick the bucket.

What worries me, though, is how the laptop seems to be becoming increasingly hotter these past few weeks. Despite the fact that my battery hasn't been involved in any recalls, the paranoid side of me is hesitant about leaving it in for much longer. For now, however, being able to afford a new battery is up in the air (that's a nice way of saying not an option). So, I attempted to remove the battery and use only AC power. About three seconds after I turned the laptop on, it shut off. Upon a second and third try, it wouldn't turn on at all. I let it rest for about 30 minutes and tried again; it lasted long enough to show the Windows XP logo (ten or so seconds) and again shut off. I popped the battery back in, and it turned on without a problem.

So I'm left wondering: what's wrong? Has my laptop become dependent on battery power? How, if possible, can I resolve this? Seeing as how 5-10 minutes of mobility is absolutely useless to me, I'm not comfortable keeping the battery in for much longer and risking this increasing amount of heat turning into a big problem.

If they're at all useful, here are the specs for the battery and the laptop:



> Toshiba Satellite M45-S165
> 
> Intel Celeron M processor 370 (1.50GHz)
> 15.4" diagonal WXGA display
> ...





> Li-ion BATTERY PACK
> Model NO. PA3451U-1BRS
> 
> DC 14.4V 2000mAH


Also, here's an idea of the daily usage of the laptop. I'm normally on it for an average of 6 or so hours a day, and leave it in standby when not in use. I don't usually run large programs; normally I'm running Pidgin, Firefox, and xplorer², as well as AVG Free and Windows Defender, with Wi-Fi enabled. If you'd like to any additional information, just ask. Any help or advice is appreciated.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I've seen a number of laptops that won't run without the battery, so I'd say that could be normal. A laptop shouldn't damage the battery pack with it plugged in continuously. My wife's laptop has been plugged in most of the time for a year, the battery is just fine. The charging circuit in the laptop should not overcharge the battery.

If the laptop is getting hot, you might consider blowing the dust out of the fans, which is a major reason for overheating of laptops.


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## [SAR]Tekron (Jul 21, 2003)

I've heard you're definitely not supposed to keep the laptop plugged in while it's off and fully charged and whatnot... but it probably more matters on usage of the laptop and how often you use it until the battery is drained.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

That is incorrect for any modern laptop. However, if you are running for long periods of time and don't provide proper cooling for the laptop, it may affect the life. I'm talking about LiIon batteries here, which are almost all of modern laptop batteries.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/print-parttwo-34.htm


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