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Microsoft has been investigating user complaints related to the battery life of laptops running Windows 7, a problem that's apparently been drifting around since the widespread beta version was released into the wild. While there don't seem to be exact figures for the number of users affected, the issue does seem to occur for those users upgrading their laptops to Windows 7 from either Windows Vista or Windows XP.
I queried Microsoft about the battery issue Feb. 3, and a spokesperson responded with: "Microsoft has been made aware that some computers running Windows 7 receive a warning that battery needs to be replaced when the battery is new or in good health. In conjunction with our hardware partners, we are investigating this issue."
Good thing, too, because if the comments left over the previous few months on the Microsoft TechNet discussion forum are any indication, the battery life for some users experiencing the issue is as short as 15 minutes.
A number of readers commented on my original eWEEK story, and I've printed a selection below:
"I have a Dell Latitude D830 and I'm experiencing the exact problem since I installed Windows 7."
"One year old, 6cell battery does not last an hour with win 7."
"YES, I am having similar issues with Win 7!! I have a Dell XPS 16 that is less than a year old, upgraded from Vista to Win 7 and now get 1.5hrs of battery life if I am lucky!!"
"I agree that Win7 is probably not using up batteries much, if any, faster than XP or Vista. Based on nothing but the anecdotal data available, I would opine that there is some error in the way Win7 is interpreting the battery information provided by the hardware. Yes, this IS a problem with Win7. It doesn't take rocket science to determine that, given the same power management settings, batteries should yield about the same charge endurance under XP, Vista or Win7."
"For those doubters, did you check out the link to the TechNet forum? I have personally experienced a problem after upgrading a Dell laptop from Vista to 7 - incessant warnings to replace the battery until I disabled the feature. Hopefully MS will work with the manufacturers and figure out what is wrong."
Others have upgraded but don't seem to be experiencing any issues:
"I updated my Packard Bell from Vista to Windows 7: my battery is working without problems. Why are people so irrational about Microsoft?"
"Considering the extra horsepower required by Win7 (especially compared to XP) why is this a surprise? Win 7 is burning thru cpu and graphics cycles compared to older versions of Windows. Did anyone think the battery life would not be affected?"
Right now I'm interested in whether this is truly a widespread problem, or an affliction of a relatively small minority. If you have your own story to share, feel free to post a comment below.
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Comments (23)
yes its true .my hp nc6230 has this problem for over a year now since i installed the beta version.my battery was then 2 months old and when i plugged out my charger i instantly received a message saying your battery is low (at 99% ?????)and you should replace it soon .i can keep on working for an hour and a half after that .i thought it was the battery , till now .
Posted by Raoul | February 4, 2010 7:00 PM
After upgrading, Win 7 did not detect either of the 2 Dell issue batteries I have for a Latitude D820. I bought a replacement and it seems to be working ok.
Posted by Francis Kelly | February 5, 2010 1:08 AM
I have a dell inspiron 1720 and after upgrading to windows 7 my battery lasts about 15 minutes. It constantly says there is a problem with my battery even though there never was a problem before I upgraded.
Posted by Jeff | February 5, 2010 10:44 AM
True indeed. My Lenovo R61's reportable battery life dropped down from 4 to 1.5 Hrs. This happened after I upgraded from Win7(7100) to (7600). Going back to factory set Vista and running a battery gauge reset and then reinstalling Win7(7600) too didn't help.
Posted by Agrim Gupta | February 5, 2010 10:53 AM
Apter upgrading to windows 7 my 6 cell battery that used to last about 2 hours when unplugged when i had vista, now lasts less than 10 minutes
Posted by Maria | February 5, 2010 12:42 PM
yep. my sony vaio vgn-nr220e is not holding a charge at all. Sont says "we are not going to update drivers for 7". SONY?!?! Like they don't have the resources to update drivers for a 800 dollar laptop? Ridiculous.
Posted by nate | February 5, 2010 2:36 PM
After I upgraded my Toshiba Satellite P-305 from Vista to Windows 7, my battery life went down to about 25 minutes, and asked me to replace my battery. I bought a 9 cellreplacement battery but the message persists and the new battery will not hold a charge.
Posted by Chris | February 5, 2010 10:23 PM
Got my Acer notebook 5 month ago and update it to windows 7 Home Premium from Windows Vista . Now with windows 7 , my notebook battery can only last about 40 min even with Acer Powersmart on instead of 3 hours in Windows Vista with Acer Powersmart on .
Hope got a solution for this soon .
Posted by seettc | February 6, 2010 6:46 AM
My battery is dead and only after I installed Windows 7. Worked fine before that. In addition, my laptop is also running much hotter since the install. I tried for hours to figure out the battery problem and finally resolved to either buy a new one or just leave it plugged in. Then I heard this news...I really hope Microsoft helps us out!
Posted by Brad | February 7, 2010 5:49 PM
I've got a pre-release candidate of windows 7 running.. and my battery life seems to have improved since i used vista.
Posted by Joshua S. | February 7, 2010 6:45 PM
Same issue here EEEPC1000h Windows7 get the message consider replacing your battery. Tried discharging all the way down from bios screen and recharging unit just with adapter plugged in maxes out to 22% when OS is running no joy at all. I think the battery is destined for the bin.
Regards
Posted by JoeS | February 8, 2010 5:42 AM
Raoul,
We are investigating the battery life issue in conjunction with our hardware partners, which appears to be related to system firmware. We are working with our partners to determine the root cause and will update the Windows TechNet forum (available here: http://bit.ly/cobVvf) with information and guidance as it becomes available.
Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team
Posted by JessicaD | February 8, 2010 10:18 AM
I have windows vista the program very bad Because The device's battery does not last more than a quarter of an hour.
Posted by amaa | February 8, 2010 3:50 PM
time of battery is low with win 7
Posted by Mohamed | February 8, 2010 6:19 PM
Yes, but I guess nobody is perfect. Hope SP1 will fix it. Still, "XP is nobody" for me
Posted by Dhani Aristyawan | February 15, 2010 5:46 AM
2.5 year old LG R500, upgraded from Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional 2 weeks ago. 1 hour battery time on Vista B, after upgrade to W7 and using it for 1.5 weeks, the battery is totally dead (you can not charhe it at all).
PC runs OK with power-cord attached. I have called Microsoft Sweden, they claim it is not their fault, please contact LG support. Have done that, LG claim it is not their fault. Pointing fingers!
Posted by Kjell Jarmlinger | February 17, 2010 6:42 AM
Dell Studio 1535 1 year old.After Windows 7 installed in my laptop a message "Plugged in but not charging" appears every time.My battery is dead.Worked fine before this upgrade,from Vista to Windows 7. I tried for hours to figure out the battery problem(BIOS and some tricks) but nothing works for me. I just leave it plugged in but compatibility is the most most important thing for any user.Support for this kind of problems cannot be guaranteed for any manufacture.
Posted by Stavros | February 19, 2010 4:00 PM
I purchased (9/09) a new Lenovo X200s laptop with Vista and after 5 months "upgraded" to Win7. My 9-cell battery that was providing over 9 hours of usable life on a full charge almost immediately declined to under 4 hours after the switch to Win7. Diagnosing cell failure under warranty, Lenovo has since issued me 2 new 9-cell replacement batteries, neither of which can charge beyond 4 hours. Although very accessible, Lenovo's techs are serving up a lot of lip service, which has precipitated a case escalation for me to a Lenovo executive (still waiting). Very frustating.
Posted by RKH | February 21, 2010 9:24 PM
I have experienced a major drop in Battery life more than 50%, since reinstalling my PC to Windows 7 x64 Professionel on my Lenovo W500 (type: 4062-3JG).
Which makes it hard to work efficiently on my laptop, when not close to a power outlet. Very unsatisfying and frustrating!
Posted by Raffles | February 25, 2010 5:55 PM
HP Compaq 8710p upgraded to Windows 7. I used to get 2 to 3 hours of battery life; now I am lucky to get 30 minutes. Very frustrating indeed - no one seems to have any answers.
Posted by TomC | February 28, 2010 6:51 PM
Interesting ... I upgraded from XP to Win 7 and at first did not notice any change in battery performance, BUT recently I did not use my fully charged computer (Toshiba NB200) for about a week and noticed that my battery life on resumption was about 20%. Tried this a few more times with the same result. I'm not technical but it sure seems that Win 7 is running something in the background after the OS is shut down (using the normal shut down process).
Would be interested in hearing any update on this.
Thanks
Posted by Ernie | March 1, 2010 4:43 PM
I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T61p that I upgraded to Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit (4 GB mem, Core2 processor). No battery problems after several months of operation. My battery is just over 2 years old and does have a reduced life relative to a new battery, but I have not noted any undue power drains when running Windows 7. The biggest power drain appears to be keeping the LCD on bright, which was true previously with Vista/XP. Lowering that intensity certainly increases battery lifetime.
I have noted that the suspended system will occasionally move into hibernation mode even when the battery power seems fine (or is plugged in) even though I have set the power settings not to do this unless the battery drops too low. I have not yet figured out any pattern to this.
No other Windows 7 issues with my notebook at this time. Works great!
I even upgraded an older T42 Thinkpad for my sister from XP to Win 7 Enterprise 32 bit (2 GB memory) and it was quite peppy, which surprised me.
Posted by George | March 3, 2010 9:11 AM
Same problem here guys. Installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 on an HP DV9010US laptop. HP Battery Check shows I need to replace the battery and battery life is under 1 hour. Formatted the HDD and installed Vista Ultimate 32. No messages to replaced the same battery and battery life back up to 3.0 hours. Will test this week-end going back to the default Windows MCE and see what that does. BTW I ordered new batteries so I'll test them as well. C'mon Microsoft, we all need a Service Pack.
Posted by TechGuy2010 | March 18, 2010 3:20 PM