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Recently I purchased a replacement battery. The new battery has more capacity compared to the previous one.

The problem is Windows (Vista) does not report 100% charge for the laptop even when it is fully charged. Currently it only seems to charge up to 55%. But if I discharge it to 0%, the laptop can run 2 more hours at 0%.

I thought fully discharging the battery would help, but when I plug it in and charge it back, first it stays at 0% for a long time again, and then it starts to go up until it reaches 55% and stays there.

Is there any way I can calibrate this battery?

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  • which laptop you have?
    – Debabratta Jena
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 13:51
  • Sony Vaio FW-190
    – Haluk
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 13:56
  • I don't know about Sony Vaio, but in my Lenovo the Power management software never charges the battery to 100%, its always remain on 79% becauses it increases the battery lifetime. However I have done it manually. It may happen that somebody has changed that settings and you are not aware of it.
    – Debabratta Jena
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 14:03
  • Hello, I used to have lifetime optimizer on an older laptop. I think the main difference between "lifetime optimizer" and my problem is that I can run my laptop for 2 hours at 0% remaining battery.
    – Haluk
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 15:27
  • @Haluk did you ever managed to solve this? I'm experiencing the same problem now with a Sony VAIO too :D
    – Paulo Bu
    Commented Jan 26, 2014 at 16:38

3 Answers 3

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The Windows battery meter in the system tray might not accurately display the charge level of the battery, to have it calibrated you can use the steps bellow (may take several hours):

Note: Do not use the computer during the calibration cycle.

Step by Step:

  1. First turn off your screensaver and other power management settings that put the computer to sleep.

  2. Then fully charge the laptop battery;

  3. Unplug the power cord;

  4. Let it run all the way down until the computer shuts off automatically.

  5. Once fully drained, you can charge it back up again and restore your screensaver and power management settings.

Additional information and more elaborated methods can be found at:

HP - Calibrating the Notebook Battery (Windows Vista)

works equally for other laptop brands.

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  • I've done this. In step 5, when charging it back, it stays at 0% for a few hours, then it starts showing up numbers larger than 0%. The maximum percentage is it shows is 55%.
    – Haluk
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 12:47
  • @Haluk Did you disable all power related options and screensaver, and you didn't use the laptop during this process?
    – Zuul
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 12:51
  • Yes. All steps done.
    – Haluk
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 13:29
  • @Haluk Try the second method from the link I've placed on the bottom of my answer. If no avail, let me know. Additionally, what's the Laptop brand and model? And the Battery, is OEM or from the laptop manufacturer?
    – Zuul
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 13:37
  • Ok I'll try the second method. This laptop is a Sony Vaio FW-190. The battery is OEM. Manufacturer accepts a product exchange but I'm not sure the problem is with the battery.
    – Haluk
    Commented Aug 9, 2012 at 13:54
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look for a special, VAIO button on your laptop..

It is vaio control centre, its to preserve longer battery life charge cycles

u can choose on or off, and you can choose 50 or 80 percent

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Sony has a 'Software Update Utility' that you should check. It should review your software drivers and bios and show you any updates that are available. Bios update may address your issue.

I had to flash bios in my old laptop for the exact reason of detecting a larger battery (it was noted in the version description). Once complete I was good to go.

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