Laptop not charging issue

[rtuite]

So, I've got an old Vaio that I've had sitting in a drawer for a while. I've never used it, I got it in a big box of tech goodies I bought from a friend who was in financial trouble. I tried to unload it on Craigslist and got some weird info from someone that I wanted to verify. The laptop is a Sony Vaio VGN-SR490PBB. The battery shows "0% available (plugged in, charging)" I assumed the battery was dead. Priced them out, and put in the ad that they were available from $30-$50 on eBay for legit batterys, not the China specials.

This guy called me and was giving me all kinds of weird info on this laptop/ The thing that doesn't add up here is that he kind of crossed some info up when he was talking about this issue.

Basically he started saying that a cheap battery won't work, then started talking about a driver issue with Windows 7 on those laptops. He was saying that the batteries would only work under Windows XP. The first thing I saw as odd about the driver issue is that the laptop has a Vista sticker, so I know it's not intended only for XP. Then he started saying that he couldn't get a battery for under $100. He kind of flip flopped around on it a little. The thing that really made me doubt his intent is that he backpedaled when I told him I couldn't find anything like that and asked where he found that info.

I've dug around and really found nothing to corroborate his story on this. I've seen a few folks talking about reloading the Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery driver (which I've done in a couple variations) but nothing specifically about this line of laptops or these batteries being incompatible with WIn 7. I've also not seen anything about driver problems with cheap batteries.

The only thing I can think of, assuming it's not actually the battery, is that this machine came with a cheap aftermarket power cord. It is rated for the correct voltage/wattage. I know a bad supply can cause this issue.

I just want to verify if this guy was full of hot air or if this is actually an issue. I just don't want to sell this thing to someone expecting a $30 fix and this guy wind up being right. I just don't do that to people.

 

[Rit_86]

Laptop batteries are not dependent on which OS you use. So, you can understand what that guy is up to.
To make sure the batteries are truly dead, do the following steps and see if it helps.
Switch of everything and unplug the charger from the laptop.
Take the battery out.
Plug the charger to the laptop and the power supply and switch your laptop on.
If it switches on, your laptop is OK, the battery is the problem part.
If it switches on, again turn it off, unplug, put the battery back and give it around 10 minutes charge and then switch it on. If it works normally for sometime, the battery is OK.
Lastly, try to charge it with a genuine charger from of any make if the pin matches the charging port and is of the same rating. Also try checking the aftermarket power adapter with a multimeter to see if it is supplying the correct voltage/current.

 

[velocityg4]

A fully functional laptop will fetch a greater overall price than one that needs some fixing up. Nobody wants a six to nine year old laptop that needs repairs. You'll only get people that want it for practically nothing.

Really if the laptop has a Vista sticker it is very old in computer terms. In mint condition it would be worth $200. That's refurbished, retail with a warranty and Windows 7 license.

In the condition you're describing I'd say $30 for the computer. If you fixed it maybe $100 to $150.

As for cheap batteries. Be sure those are actual OEM batteries not some knockoff. There is not a driver issue. However, cheap batteries often have problems due to poor craftsmanship. They usually don't last as long before failure. I've tried cheap batteries four or five times over the years. In every instance they never lasted more than a couple of charges. I only buy genuine OEM batteries. Which can often be found for 20% to 30% than MSRP on eBay from reputable US based resellers.