Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Windows 7 - How To Fix Laptop Battery Won't Charge Issue (Plugged In,Not Charging)

We have a new HP laptop at work that is our audio recording and video production rig.  For some reason today, it would only run on AC and not the battery.  The battery indicator in the tray indicated:
Plugged In, Not Charging

Strange for a new laptop to have a bad battery especially when HP Support Assistant indicated a good battery.  After some searching, here a possible the fix that worked for me on Windows 7.  This may or may not not work if you.

  1. Go into Control Panel

  2. Go to the System category

  3. Select View Advanced System Settings

  4. Go to the Hardware tab and click the Device Manage button

  5. Under the Batteries section right click on the "Microsoft APCI-Compliant Control Method Battery" and select "Uninstall"

  6. Agree to the warning to uninstall

  7. Perform a Windows Update. If you don't this, your next update will probably break this fix

  8. Shutdown your computer

  9. Remove the battery for 1 minute

  10. Reinstall the battery

  11. Turn on your computer with your AC adapter since your battery is probably dead

  12. Windows should automatically recognize the "new" battery hardware and reinstall the driver for you

  13. Your battery should start charging again

If you have an HP laptop and this does not work for you, there have been reports that certain HP laptops need a firmware update.

Edit January 26th, 2014: Sadly I have had to disable comments since people have chosen to post hateful comments if the a solution did not work for them.
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29 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 23, 2012 at 5:59 AM

    Thanks you very much for this kind help now my laptop battery is fixed and enjoying computing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 11, 2012 at 11:42 AM

    did not work.. after starting up my computer again the driver was reinstalled again..

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 16, 2012 at 2:24 PM

    Worked excellent for my Fujitsu NH751 laptop. Battery is charging like a dream now.
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    unfortunately did not fix my HP problem, probably because Vista for whatever reason has the power icon as hibernate instead of shutdown and killed the battery in the 3-4 months it hasn't been plugged in for

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2013 at 9:37 PM

    Scratch that, prior to (20 min) and after doing this it would occasionally say charging for 1 second, came back after 45 min and looks like it is charging slowly. fully charged after almost 3 hours, with it in sleep mode

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2013 at 3:55 AM

    problem is not solved. after restart the machine battery start to charging but after a little while it seems the same condition as before 'plugged in, not charging'...any solution????
    I am using windows 7-32 bit with compaq presario C700!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2013 at 12:59 AM

    Thanks alot! My battery is working now thanks to you :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. CraigFebruary 8, 2013 at 4:25 AM

    I have a Dell Vostro doing the same thing. I uninstall the ACPI Compliant Control and then the system picks it up and reinstalls it. The battery shows charging for about 15 seconds. Then the battery meter stops running and it goes back to "Plugged in, Not Charging".

    ReplyDelete
  9. karlo2002February 18, 2013 at 12:45 AM

    didnt work the thing that i uninstalled is reinstalled when i turned it back on.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kathee LibertoFebruary 28, 2013 at 2:40 AM

    I just tried this. So far so good. I will be forever greatful if it continues to work.
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. pythontutorMarch 1, 2013 at 1:55 PM

    It worked for me, that's what happens to my laptop. Many thanks

    ReplyDelete
  12. SasikumarMarch 2, 2013 at 8:06 PM

    Thanks for the help... My laptop's battery problem has been fixed now

    ReplyDelete
  13. MarcellaMarch 30, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    Amazing I was ready to get a new battery or laptop. As soon as i turned my laptop back on the battery was full and didn't need the ac to be plugged in, thanks heaps.

    ReplyDelete
  14. DMplusApril 6, 2013 at 12:46 AM

    Worked for me! Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  15. kopitalkMay 15, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    I have tried the above without success; yes it would work but only temporary. Updating Driver Chipset does the trick for me. Here's a link http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=5056942&swItem=ob-92082-1&prodNameId=5056943&swEnvOID=4059&swLang=13&taskId=135&mode=3.

    ReplyDelete
  16. JSMay 20, 2013 at 12:55 AM

    At first I didn't think it had worked, although the Battery icon said "100% fully charged"", so I switched off the AC power and the laptop immediately died (switched off) black screen. I then switched back on the AC power, and battery now appears to be charging, up to 17% already by the time I've typed this reply......thanks guys. I suppose Batteries don't just suddenly stop working unless they're suddenly faulty. Anyhow, fingerers crossed it keeps charging and all remains good. Thanks again, I too was going to buy a new battery. JS.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousMay 26, 2013 at 4:17 AM

    Thank you, thank you! This worked! I was sure my laptop was toast. Thanks for taking the time to post this and saving me several hundred dollars!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. shaniceJune 21, 2013 at 1:22 AM

    This totally worked, thank u!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. manishAugust 27, 2013 at 10:01 PM

    thamk you very much !! you saved lots of dollars for me !!
    it worked like wonder

    ReplyDelete
  20. Vijay MeenaAugust 28, 2013 at 5:40 AM

    i have found that SP1 i.e service pack1 is responsible for abnormal decline in charge. kindly update it folks... it will work... cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  21. KJ SmithSeptember 15, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    Worked fine for my Toshiba Satellite with windows 7. Problem keeps coming back every month or so (my laptop is never turned off except during reboots), but is easily fixed each time. Have tried various battery management schemes and there is no difference. Battery (when charged fully) is fine since it lasts 2+ hours off-charge, with constant use. Anyway 2 minutes a month to fix isn't too bad. Thanks for your advice. (p.s. don't need to turn the laptop off. Just delete the device. Disconnect the battery with the power plugged in. Wait 1 min. Push battery back into slot. Rescan devices to reinstall driver.)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Honey BrickwellSeptember 15, 2013 at 8:59 PM

    WOW! How many batteries have been thrown in the bin when this could have fixed the issue. Great info that I have never heard of before. I have saved this info as a documnet on my computer in case i forget what you said, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  23. briuinoOctober 4, 2013 at 10:15 PM

    It works well, I really appreciate. If uninstall doesn't work, try to disable the driver by right clicking. It is true that it will reinstall after reboot, but disabling it remains until you choose to enable.

    Once you disable and reboot you'll be singing hallelujah.

    It works. I nearly sold out my new laptop for this issue.

    Thanks poster.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Srinivasulu.GDecember 3, 2013 at 10:56 AM

    Excellent tip. My laptop Toshiba satellite battery is now charging after following your suggestion. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. MikeDecember 8, 2013 at 10:41 AM

    It might be Because the drivers for the battery are already the up to date drivers but I have the same issue. One day I left my house when it was at 75% plugged in, not charging. Then after 45 minutes I came home and saw it at 80% plugged in, charging. So the latest driver I installed trickle charges my battery so if I forget it plugged in it doesn't mess up my battery. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  26. MubaraqDecember 31, 2013 at 10:55 PM

    I tried it but it is still not charging!

    ReplyDelete
  27. George CooperJanuary 9, 2014 at 8:36 AM

    I tried this and it booted on the battery again not charging

    ReplyDelete
  28. varunJanuary 11, 2014 at 2:38 PM

    What I did is updated to software by right clicking it and it started charging.

    ReplyDelete
  29. ebtJanuary 23, 2014 at 1:51 AM

    Yes! It worked.
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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