Weird battery problem

Hi all, I really need help. I think I might have short-circuited my laptop battery a week ago…I don't know. It was working fine before. Now, if I plug in my battery and no AC power cord, my laptop doesn't start. No indicator lights–nothing. The strange thing is this: if I remove my battery and plug in the AC power cord ONLY, my laptop tries to boot, but an error message comes up, saying "your computer is unable to start" and "attempting repairs." The "attempting repairs" window then became stuck, so I had to turn off my comp by force. Interestingly, if I plug in both the AC power and battery, the laptop starts normally. I went to the control panel and checked the driver for the battery. I found the driver which said "MS ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery." I clicked properties and it said, "This device is working properly," which I know is not true. I know something's wrong…Do you know what's wrong? If the only problem is a dead battery, when why does the error message come up? Or is something wrong with the internal hardware? In Summary: Battery + AC power = computer runs No battery + AC power = error message Battery + no AC power = nothing happens I don't know much about fixing computers or anything, so any help is greatly appreciated!!

Hi, and welcome to the WTT forums. Sorry to hear of the problem with your laptop computer.
This could turn out to be a tough one to diagnose by long range on the forum….
You don't say why you suspect a short circuit….

I might have short-circuited my laptop battery a week ago…I don't know. It was working fine before

and it would be helpful to know more about the reference to "before"
for example we need to know before what……
Obviously something happened, to make syou suspect a short circiut and we need really more details on that… To short circuit a battery is a dangerous thing…it usually involves someone removing the battery and allowing a conductor (piece of wire or steel for examle) to bridge across the battery terminals without any intervening load being applied…….

The simplyest course of action may be to either try a new battery and see if this does the job, or continue to use the machine backed up with AC power
At long range it is not practical to suggest any effective way of performing a hardware diagnostic.
Regards
paws

Thanks for the reply Sorry I forgot to mention that I suspected a short circuit because I spilled water on my comp and the battery got wet. It was a while ago and everything should be try now. I did remove the battery a couple minutes after the incident but after that, the battery became "dead." I want to put my friend's battery (who has the same comp as I do) into my comp for a test. Just wondering…this won't damage her battery right?

Ok I put my battery in my friend's comp and it did not boot. I put hers into my comp and my comp booted. So it's a battery prob! Just wondering, do you suppose water got inside my battery or is it just shorted? Is there any way I can salvage my old battery? Any way I can fix it? Or do I need to buy a new one?

Hi, Glad you got to the bottom of it.
Water and laptops including batteries are not good bedfellows, and liquid ingress/spillage is responsible for a large amount of laptop and battery mortality.
the new battery is the answer, but should this ever happen again. here's a "first aid" list that might be helpful in limiting damage and perhaps saving the laptop or the battery or maybe even both.
Paws first Aid list for laptop computers with liquid spillage/ingress
1 Time is of the absolute essence, there is no time to hang around or wait for inspiration, seconds count, and apart from speed of action your only other main consideration should be personal safety issues.
2 Switch off (with dry hands) the mains electricity at the wall socket and pull out the plug, then pull out all the plugs on any connected equipment. Shutdown the computer (hard shutdown if necessary, hold in power on button for 6 seconds)
3 With dry hands, immediately remove the laptop battery, place it on 2 or 3 tissues and wipe away any visible moisture.(especially around the electrical contacts.
4 Wipe away with tissues any visible moisture on the laptop, turn it upside down and move it about, very gently, to dislodge any droplets.
5 Remove the memory cover plate (usually on the bottom of the Laptop and remove any visible memory modules, place on a dry tissue
6 Using the same procedure remove the antenna connections to the Wifi card and then place the wif fi card on a dry tissue.
7 Remove the hard drive(s) (usually secured by either one or two screws) and place on a dry tissue.
8 Remove any CDs or discs that may be in the machine, open the CD tray (use a straightened paperclip in the emergency access hole) and then remove moisture with a dry tissue, leave the tray open
9 Note when removing the memory modules from the underneath of the computer, remember that on some laptops there is another memory slot underneath the keyboard, if you have this on your laptop then its essential to raise the keyboard (carefully as the cables are easily damaged) to get at the memory module underneath.
10 With the keyboard raised use a dry tissue to clear any water droplets visible to keep as much as possible away from the motherboard.
11 Place the laptop upside down on to a couple of thick books (with the spine sides up) so that its supported and can drain with a good airflow all around it.
12 You can now take a breath and start phoning around your friendly neighbourhood computer technicians for a price for the next steps…….
13 If the spillage was clean water only then you might just get away with it, without too much damage…providing you got it disconnected quickly enough and you resist the temptation to switch it on again for 72 hours. Yes that's right 72 hours, do not try and shorten this time by using hair dryers, fans, heaters etc. Many laptops survive the initial dowsing with water only to succomb to a motherboard short circuit caused by an attempt to power up the machine an hour or so later…….
14 If the liquid spillage was anything other than 100% clean water then it really needs stripping down completely and all electronics cleaned by an experienced technician….This is likely to be expensive as the labour will generally be not less than 3.5 hours…….
15 If the liquid was sugary or anything other than clean water then corrosion will set in quickly, so the sooner you can the laptop into the technician's workshop the better.

Rgards
paws

Thank you very much for the info. I will keep it all in mind and share it with the people I know. When water first spilled on my comp, I seriously wasn't sure what to do. I think I did everything wrong including hesitating about what to do, removing the battery several minutes late, and trying to turn it on after an hour. I'm surprised I didn't 100% fry my computer. I'm still not sure why my comp would not start with only AC power and no battery inserted…but if I insert the dead battery and plug in the AC, it works. Oh well, it's not really a big prob. I'll be checking up on replacement batteries. Where's a good place to get them? I've been checking and it ranges from $90 (ebay) to $270 (some other site). What a big price difference…though I'm wary of buying from ebay because of fakes.

Hi, the standard "text book" answer to your question about sourcing a new battery for your laptop, is to only use one supplied by the manufacturers of your computer or their accredited service agent. This will provide you with a guaranteed product (although the guarantee may be very short) manufactured to specified quality and safety standards. Generally this will be initially expensive in terms of outright purchase cost, but is the "safer" option…..Having said that even these batteries have sometimes safety issues and many have been the subject of "recall" on health and safety grounds, by the manufacturer/supplier. Any battery sourced from elsewhere, may be cheaper initially, but may not provide you with the peace of mind that folks often seek. Some "third party" batteries are well made, to a good standard and are electrically safe, and provide value for money……….others on the other hand, may be assembled in a low tech environment, by third world child labour, with poor or non existent quality control and with questionable, or even practically non existent safety standards. Please be aware that the battery in a laptop computer as well as containing potentially toxic substances, also has the capacity to cause a fire or explosion in "fault conditions" with risks to life and limb……. the decision on purchase is of course yours, and if you have the research skills and the time to check out thoroughly the provenance and standards of a battery from a third party manufacturer, and access to technical expertise to advise on standards and quality assurances required, then the third party supplier route might be worthwhile investigating to see if the standards you seek are available and quaranteed. If on the other hand you want a known product that accords with safety and quality control standards then go for the battery from the manufacturer of your computer or their accredited agents. Hope this helps. Regards paws