Laptop Battery question

[Big Mike]

The only laptop I have, is an old Compaq Presario. I need to replace the battery and I have a questions that Google isn't helping with.

The battery I have, is a 9.6V NiMH...but most of the replacement models are 14.4V Li-on.

So can I just replace the one I have with the 14.4V battery? And if so, would I need a new power adapter?

Or do I need to stick with a 9.6V replacement?

 

[Robin Usagani]

You have to stick with the voltage Mike. If you use that battery, probably you will have blue screen telling you that you have too high of voltage. You need a 3 cells instead of 4 cells battery.

 

[RalphP13]

I can't give you a difinitive answer but I will offer an opinion.

I know you can use different MAh (Milliamperes). It represents the amount of stored energy in your battery.

Voltage in a battery refers to the "volume" of electricity that is delivered to your computer. Too much will cause overheating and you run the risk of frying your laptop or components. Apparently, some laptops have internal voltage regulators which allow you to use a higher voltage battery. You might want to call Compaq and see if your laptop can handle that voltage.

The makeup of the battery NiMH vs NiCad vs Li-Ion doesn't really affect the laptop function given similar V and Amps.

Short version: I would look for the same Voltage and Amps unless I knew for sure my laptop could handle it.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Ralph

 

[Robin Usagani]

Hmmm.. I think the higher the MAh, the longer the battery will last in one charge. The higher the better.

 

[RalphP13]

Hmmm.. I think the higher the MAh, the longer the battery will last in one charge. The higher the better.

This is true. I hope may post didn't confuse this issue.

Ralph

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks everyone. Yes, the mAH is the capacity and higher is better. Too bad about the voltage because the 14.6V ones that I've seen, have 4400mAH compared to the 3800mAH on my 9.6V.

The part that sucks, is that I only paid $100 for the laptop, and now it looks like a replacement battery (with shipping) will cost me just as much.

 

[Mike_E]

Mike, If you are good at DIY, carefully split the battery at the seam and you will (most likely, I've never worked on a Compaq) find rechargable AA batteries in there. You can find AAs with tabs -instead of the normal ends- on line. Solder the required number together and into the case, reglue and you're good to go.

 

[Big Mike]

It won't hurt to have a look...although, my soldering skills are terrible. :er:

I'm also looking into just buying a cheap netbook/laptop.

 

[Big Mike]

I can't get the thing open, it's pretty solid and the gap is tiny. I've never been good at opening plastic cases, they usually get pretty marked up and/or broken.

Arg!

 

[Dao]

...although, my soldering skills are terrible. :er:.

The ebay radio trigger mod?

 

[Big Mike]

You remember that? :er:

 

[Robin Usagani]

a screw or two might be hidden underneath a sticker.

 

[Vinny]

A couple of things - NiMh batterys are interchangable with Nicd battereries but not Li ion batteries. I believe their chargers are made with different sensing circuits. Yes, there may be a couple of screws holding the case together or the case may be sonically welded - I've used a Dremel a few times to open the cases of sonically welded plastic; use epoxy to glue it together. You can get batteries for the configuration you need at a few battery companies - R&D Batteries and I believe Access make a lot of battery configurations, I don't know what they charge. The batteries themselves may be AA or sub AA (a little fatter and shorter), personally if the batteries don't have tabs on both terminals it may be a pain to solder them together - I've never had any luck with doing it but I use a low heat solding iron.

As far as the old vs new - if the price of batteries is over $100 you really should consider new if you can afford it. A cheap new HP netbook is $280 (U.S.) and a cheap Compaq Presario is $380 (U.S.) on their website. Hopefully you would get newer technology than what you have now without spending a lot more money.

 

[ruaslacker2]

you might try TigerDirect.com - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics as they sell replacement batteries.

 

[Morpheuss]

i agree with ruaslacker i would check tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com they are awesome computer part places. With how old your laptop sounds I would probably consider buying a new laptop. Windows 7 is a very nice operating system the mini netbooks are nice and small but their power is limited because of the space they aren't able to have as good of hardware as regular laptops. At least for now that will probably change in the next year or so....