Battery plugged in, not charging

[distance]

I have a pavilion dm1 4018 with the same problem as you.  I tried all the methodes I can get, such as unplug and plug the AC when detect the battery, update the BIOS, uninstall the ACPI-Comliant Control Method Battery, update all the Microsoft hot fix, uninstall and reinstall hp support assistant, etc. But all these failed. Actually my battery detect result status is OK and AC adapter is fine. Finally I find out a unique way to solve this problem: just install and uninstall  Power Manager Utility Software and then the battery begin charging, even dont need unplug anything and dont need reboot. But this method is only working once, it means, when the battery charge to 100%, it wont charge next time. So I need to install and unintall this software everytime when I need to charge it.

[sbs1025]

Yeah see what I have to do in order for the battery its self to charge is I have to unplug the adapter from my computer, shut it off by holding the power button down, pop out the battery, put battery back in, plug charger back in and wait. It's a pain and very annoying. Thank goodness I'm going home soon and will be able to trash this computer.

[m311owout]

I have a dm1-4170 with the same problems and have spent hours trying everything posted here. The only thing that seems to work is to re-install the Power Manager Utility software everytime I need to charge, but it doesn't last. 

Is this primarily a Windows 7 issue? Would upgrading to Windows 8 solve these problems?

[georgivt]

I`m already with Windows 8 and the problem still exists...

[tw4]

My situation seems a little different than most posts here in that, even though the battery icon in the system tray says I have 76% charge left, the computer will only function when the AC power cord is plugged in.  Plus, I have received conflicting diagnostic information which I hope someone in the forum can help me to interpret. 

Also, the HP battery check fails every time and only returns an error message: "An error was encountered trying to access the battery."  However it did list that the battery status was 79% charged.  I also did the battery test that can be accessed by hitting F2 during startup and it returned this information:

"Battery Test: Primary - Replace (40) Secondary - NOT INSTALLED (60)

Failure ID: 94N21S - . . . .

Product ID WA693UA#ABA"

My computer is about 2.8 years old and out of warranty but I was able to talk with HP tech support briefly and they said this test result meant the battery needed to be replaced.

However, there is conflicting information.  I downloaded and installed the  BatteryBar application by Osiris Development to get more data about my battery.  BatteryBar also indicated the battery was 79% charged plus, it said my battery has only 5.6% battery wear out of 47,530 mWh (I leave the battery out of my laptop most of the time in an attempt to preserve its life-span).  Interestingly, both the  battery icon in the system tray and the BatterBar application have shown a gradual decrease in battery charge from 79% to 76% over the last few days.  To me, this indicates that 1)The two battery diagnostic applications are probably displaying legitemate real-time data, 2) the battery is capable of being charged up to at least 79%,  3) The battery holds a charge pretty well and is slowly discharging over time and 4) the battery and computer appear to be communicating. 

Given the information in the preceding paragraph, I question whether HP tech support's conclusion that the solution to my "Battery plugged in, not charging" problem  is replacing the battery.  Plus, I can't afford to spend $100 or whatever, just to test that theory.  Local stores, of course,  didn't seem to want to try putting an alternate battery in to test the computer's ability to use a known-functioning battery for me; they just wanted me to order a new expensive battery and then see what happens.

My questions:

Does the above information mean the problem has to be with an internal circuit board?  Could it be the AC/charger cord? Something else possibly?  Any recommendations on how to get a problem like this figured out and repaired without spending nearly as much or more than the comptuer is worth?

Thank you very much for any suggestions you can provide.

My computer is a HP Pavillion DV4 2170us Notebook

I am running Windows 7 Home Premium

I am using the original battery

I also blew out a RAM chip recently

[anashe]

thanx maan,hd the sme issue.just updated my bios and im plugged in and charging.thanx againnn.saved me a whole lot

[jp4]

battery not charging when plugged in

[AxshunJaxun]

@ jp4, 

A common, really simple fix for an issue like this is a BIOS update. BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System/Service. It is the language that all of the hardware components in your computer use to communicate with each other. If it is out-of-date, it can cause strange issues like this. There are updates which come out periodically for it so it would be best to have the latest version. The following steps were taken from here.

1. Windows 8 : From the Start screen, type msinfo32 . Click msinfo32 from the list of results.

2. In the System Information window under the System Summary category, look for the BIOS Version/Date entry. This is your current BIOS version.

Figure 1: BIOS Version/Date

3. Write down the BIOS version and post it in your reply. 

Thanks for the model name but actually, if you can provide me with your exact product number I could link you directly to the latest BIOS version for your notebook if I see that it is out-of-date. Here are the steps to find your product number.

Please let me know if you have any questions! I'll keep an eye out for your reply! 

[georgivt]

Hello,

I have dm1-4175sa and BIOS version F.19 from 4.2.2013. However the latest bios does not help - still plugged in, but not charging. OS - Windows 8. The only thing that helps is installing - unistalling HP Power Manager.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[AxshunJaxun]

Hey georgivt,

I did confirm that F.19 is the latest BIOS version for your particular notebook. Have you tried running a battery check? There are a few ways to do this. 

The first way is through HP Support Assistant. First make sure you have the latest version of Support Assistant by clicking About in the top right corner. The latest version is 7.0.39.15. If you have an earlier version, click here to get the latest one.

If you already have the latest version, on the left, click the arrow/triangle pointing to the left to go back to the Home screen. From the Home screen click Battery and Performance and then HP Battery Check. Let me know what the Status says.  

I would suggest running the Battery Test from System Diagnostics on Start-Up as well if the HP Battery Check says the Status is OK. Here are the steps to begin the Battery Test from System Diagnostics (taken from here).

1. Turn off the computer.
2. Use one of the following methods:
   Turn on the computer and immediately press the F2 key repeatedly, about once every second, until the HP System
   Diagnostics program opens.
   OR
   Turn on the computer and immediately press the Escape key repeatedly, about once every second, until the Startup menu opens. Then press F2 .

 

The System Diagnostics window allows you to run several diagnostic tests. Each test determines if the hardware is functioning properly, and displays an error message and a warranty ID if there is a hardware failure.

4. Click on Battery Test and post the result of the Battery Test in your reply. 

If either of these say replace, and you are in warranty, you'll want to contact phone technical support and let them know the results of the tests. U.S. Phone Support is 800-474-6836. Here is a link for Support numbers outside the U.S.

Please let me know if you have any questions! I'll keep an eye out for your reply!