Dell Inspiron 1501 battery no longer "recognized"

Dell Inspiron 1501 battery no longer "recognized" My parents were on vacation last weekend and franticly called me saying that they couldn't get their Inspiron 1501 to boot anymore without the BIOS whining about the battery. Before this happened, they said the "battery went dead with negligible pre-warning".
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 319

Total answers/comments: 2

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Guest [Entry]

"Well, the battery is out of warranty, due to the lovely 1-year warranty they put on them.

Some batteries have a test button on them, which you can hold in to see if the battery thinks it is good internally. (hold the button for a few seconds, the lights should flash). Generally, some or all of the lights should come on. If they flash rapidly, there is a problem. If they don't light up at all, there is a problem. If it skips some of them, there is a REAL problem (I had one like that).

If you can find a spare battery to verify machine / battery, that would be good. You could also double check contacts on the battery and laptop to make sure they are clean. If you end up needing a new battery, Pacific Battery Systems generally has good deals and 18month warranties."

Guest [Entry]

"I downloaded the Dell BIOS upgrade and tried serveral times running it unsuccessfully. I then removed the battery, running on AC power and right clicked and Ran as Adminitrator.

DOS screen came up and after a while it was a success!"