Battery drains whilst laptop has shutdown

[aaronvincentnz]

Hi

My laptop is fully charged but when I 'shut down' and don't use it for a couple of weeks, I find that when I return to using it, the battery has been fully drained, despite no indication that anything is on. Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot this? I've done the battery health check and everything is fine with that.

[NonSequitur777]

@aaronvincentnz,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

When you leave your laptop fully charged and turned off for a couple of weeks, but find that the battery has been fully drained when you return to using it, there are a few possible reasons for this:

1. Battery self-discharge: All batteries, including laptop batteries, naturally lose their charge over time, even when not in use. This is known as self-discharge. The rate of self-discharge can vary depending on the battery's quality and age. If your laptop battery is older or has a high self-discharge rate, it may lose its charge relatively quickly, even when the laptop is turned off.

2. Power-consuming processes: In some cases, certain processes or applications running in the background of your laptop may continue to draw power even when the laptop is shut down. These processes can contribute to draining the battery over time. To minimize this issue, make sure to close all unnecessary applications and properly shut down the laptop instead of simply putting it to sleep or hibernation mode.

3. Faulty battery or power management system: It's also possible that there is a fault with either the laptop's battery or the power management system, which could result in excessive power drain even when the laptop is turned off. If this is the case, you may need to have your laptop checked by a technician to diagnose and resolve the issue.

To mitigate battery drain during extended periods of inactivity, you can take the following steps:

1. Charge the battery to around 50%: Before leaving your laptop for an extended period, it's recommended to charge the battery to around 50%. A battery that is fully charged or completely drained is more prone to self-discharge and potential damage.

2. Store the laptop in a cool, dry place: Extreme temperatures and humidity can impact the battery's performance and longevity. It's advisable to store your laptop in a cool, dry environment, away from direct sunlight or excessive heat.

3. Disconnect external devices: If you have any external devices connected to your laptop, such as USB drives, printers, or external hard drives, disconnect them before shutting down the laptop. These devices can draw power from the laptop even when it's turned off, contributing to battery drain.

From my own anecdotal experience, more often than not the problem you described is usually resolved by purchasing a new battery, especially if your laptop is more than three years old.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[aaronvincentnz]

Hello

thanks for the reply. I’ll give the 50% charge suggestion a try. My laptop is a year old so I’m hoping it’s not a defective battery, esp since my warranty has just expired!

how do I find out which applications/processes are running in the background? I do generally close everything that I’ve been using before fully shutting down, but would be good to see if there’s anything else that I should close

[NonSequitur777]

@aaronvincentnz,

When you shut down your PC, Windows automatically attempts to close all running applications and processes. However, there may be cases where certain applications or processes are unresponsive or refuse to close gracefully. To ensure that all applications and processes are closed before shutting down your PC, you can follow these steps:

1. Save your work: Before shutting down your PC, make sure to save any open files or documents in the applications you are using. This ensures that your work is not lost.

2. Close applications manually: Close all applications that you have actively opened. Go to each application and use the standard close button (usually an "X" in the top-right corner) or go to File -> Exit (or equivalent) to close the application gracefully.

3. Check the system tray: Some applications may run in the background and have icons in the system tray (usually located in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar). Right-click on each icon and look for an option to exit or close the application. This will ensure that background processes associated with those applications are also terminated.

4. Use the Task Manager: If you suspect that some processes are still running, even after closing applications manually, you can open the Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and go to the "Processes" or "Details" tab. Look for any processes that you don't recognize or suspect may be causing issues. Right-click on those processes and select "End task" or "End process tree" to terminate them forcefully. Exercise caution when ending processes, as terminating critical system processes can cause instability.

5. Shut down your PC: Once you have closed all applications and terminated any unwanted processes, you can proceed to shut down your PC. You can do this by clicking on the Start button, selecting the Power icon, and choosing "Shut down" or "Restart" from the options provided.

By following these steps, you can increase the likelihood of all applications and processes being closed properly before shutting down your PC.

However, in order to find out which applications or processes are running in the background on your PC, you can use the built-in Task Manager utility in Windows. Here's how to do it:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard. This will open the Task Manager directly. Alternatively, you can right-click on the taskbar and select "Task Manager" from the context menu.

2. Once the Task Manager window opens, you'll see several tabs. By default, the "Processes" tab should be selected.

3. In the Processes tab, you'll see a list of all the running processes on your PC. The processes are organized by their names, CPU, memory, disk, and network usage.

   • If you want more details, click on the "More details" button at the bottom-left corner of the Task Manager window. This will expand the Task Manager and show additional information about the running processes.

4. By default, the processes are sorted by their names in ascending order. You can click on the column headers (e.g., "Name," "CPU," "Memory") to sort the processes based on that particular attribute.

5. If you suspect that a specific process is causing issues or consuming excessive resources, you can right-click on it and select various options, such as "End task" to terminate the process or "Open file location" to navigate to the location of the process on your PC.

Additionally, you can use third-party software to get more detailed information about running processes, such as Process Explorer* or Sysinternals Suite**. These tools provide advanced features and insights into running processes, but the built-in Task Manager should be sufficient for most users.

* Process Explorer is a free Windows task manager and system monitoring tool that details which programs in a user's system have a specific file or directory open. Anyone can download the utility for free from Microsoft here: https://download.sysinternals.com/files/ProcessExplorer.zip.

** Sysinternals is a collection of free system, administration, and troubleshooting utilities for Windows, and can be downloaded from here: https://download.sysinternals.com/files/SysinternalsSuite.zip.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[aaronvincentnz]

Thanks I’ll give these options a try

[NonSequitur777]

@aaronvincentnz,

Yea, if you are so inclined, let me know how that worked out for you.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777