Compaq Presario C500 help please.....

Borodin · Oct 27, 2011, 09:53 PM

I have had this laptop for nearly 5 years with no problem at all. Suddenly I noticed my power adaptor getting warm at the end inserted into the machine and the battery was not charging (down to 34% and falling). It eventually reached zero and the laptop died. I bought a new power lead and tried to do an overnight charge. The battery charge red light stayed on for nearly 8 hours and then started to flash as if the level was critical. I switched the machine on and it worked fine for about 3 minutes (accessing the net etc) then it died again. I assume that my battery has expired and have ordered a new one. Just to satisfy my curiosity though can someone please confirm that this particular model will NOT operate if the battery has no charge/is faulty or has been removed completely and the machine just has a power lead adaptor as the single source of supply.
Many thanks........

Judas · Oct 28, 2011, 04:20 PM

actually had one of these suckers in....

I've never come across a laptop that doesn't work if no battery is present.

It should work and continue to work.

Just make sure when you buy a universtal adapter or something, that the Voltages and Amps are precisely the same.... you can however get an adapter that has a higher amperage.... but the volts still must be identical.... otherwise I've laptops tend to go poof after awhile.

Borodin · Oct 28, 2011, 08:42 PM

Forgive me for doubting you but I have just had a guy to my house who used to work for HP. He brought with him suitable power adaptor and confirmed the machine will not operate if battery is absent or no longer working. Apparently the adaptor is a battery charger and not a power source. This particular model simply does not operate via a power source only...must be via a working battery. He installed a new battery and the laptop is now charging up and working fine whilst doing so.

Judas · Oct 28, 2011, 08:51 PM

That's ok.... i have my doubts that the hp guy know entirely what he's talking about either.

Personally i would say that if that is the case, there is something wrong with the power control within the laptop itself.. you could call this a regulator. It's really not all that different from anything else that uses a 2 power sources, the system determines when to charge the battery and when to run off power, or both. If the regulator fries, it may be stuck running off the battery, forever trying to keep it charged, this would also explain why your battery went poof and quit working.

After having handled countless laptops from just about anything in the last nearly 20 years, I've not seen a single one that REQUIRED a battery to be present for it to run off the household power. Although i don't recommend it as the battery works as a voltage regulator too.

More often then not, many of the manufacturers such as hp/dell/compaq/etc will spew garbage just so they don't have to admit that it may be another problem, specially if they can ensure that they have made some sort of a sale.

In the end, don't be at all surprised if this new battery ends up disintergrating much sooner then you may care to like.

Borodin · Oct 29, 2011, 12:36 AM

Thanks for the input. Luckily the guy who called round is a friend of a friend so no charge for 'problem diagnosis' and had a new battery at cost. The old battery is definitely dead as we tested it in another machine and it refused to charge up...Time will tell about the new battery lasting. Thanks again for your comments..I agree that such problems are an ideal opportunity to rip people off and perhaps I have been stitched up....we'll see.

Judas · Oct 29, 2011, 07:59 AM

well so long as your working.... i just wish compaq would have provided some better technical specs on it... because it's kinda throwing me of that the power adapter wouldn't power your machine without the battery.... it just doesn't make sense to me...

a battery at cost is great... and having had the problem resolved at no charge. even better.... lets hope it last longer.... but i have my theories. Can't really say anything for certain without ever looking at it myself.

Borodin · Oct 30, 2011, 02:18 AM

You were quite right my friend. I plugged the new battery in and left it for two hours. When I returned it showed a 74% charge (I assumed this was going 'up'..I have a terrible feeling it was coming 'down' from 100% and the battery was fully charged already). The battery level dropped and dropped even though the laptop showed it as charging on the HP meter. It eventually reached 0% and the machine switched itself off again. Obviously no power is reaching the machine/battery when a charger is plugged in and I have tried a couple which I know are the right ones. Will get it checked out by a local computer shop...wondering if it's the jack socket which is faulty or maybe a connection to the motherboard. At least it stayed on long enough for me to copy the wife's Christmas Card list which is all she was bothered about (typical !). Moral of the story ? Listen To Judas !

Judas · Oct 30, 2011, 02:37 AM

sorry about that issue..... this is a case i'm not happy about being right...

hopefully you can get that fixed.. and indeed nice to get the backups done.

Borodin · Oct 30, 2011, 04:13 PM

Hello again,
Took my laptop into town and had it assessed by three different firms all with the same diagnosis...the power board has blown and no charge being received to either battery or PC. Estimates ranged from £90 to £140 inc labour. Bearing in mind the age of the thing I have declined...bought a suitable caddy for £10 and transferred all my files to disc. Will try and sell the battery I just bought and also the 4Gb of RAM. Hard drive only 80Gb and contains much valued information so I will destroy it. Thanks again for your advice and help Judas, much appreciated.

Judas · Oct 31, 2011, 06:03 AM

Sorry for the news...

Good luck.

Oct 27, 2011, 09:53 PM	#1
Borodin HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Compaq Presario C500 help please..... I have had this laptop for nearly 5 years with no problem at all. Suddenly I noticed my power adaptor getting warm at the end inserted into the machine and the battery was not charging (down to 34% and falling). It eventually reached zero and the laptop died. I bought a new power lead and tried to do an overnight charge. The battery charge red light stayed on for nearly 8 hours and then started to flash as if the level was critical. I switched the machine on and it worked fine for about 3 minutes (accessing the net etc) then it died again. I assume that my battery has expired and have ordered a new one. Just to satisfy my curiosity though can someone please confirm that this particular model will NOT operate if the battery has no charge/is faulty or has been removed completely and the machine just has a power lead adaptor as the single source of supply. Many thanks........

Oct 28, 2011, 08:42 PM	Thread Starter #3
Borodin HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Re: Compaq Presario C500 help please..... Forgive me for doubting you but I have just had a guy to my house who used to work for HP. He brought with him suitable power adaptor and confirmed the machine will not operate if battery is absent or no longer working. Apparently the adaptor is a battery charger and not a power source. This particular model simply does not operate via a power source only...must be via a working battery. He installed a new battery and the laptop is now charging up and working fine whilst doing so.

Oct 29, 2011, 12:36 AM	Thread Starter #5
Borodin HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Re: Compaq Presario C500 help please..... Thanks for the input. Luckily the guy who called round is a friend of a friend so no charge for 'problem diagnosis' and had a new battery at cost. The old battery is definitely dead as we tested it in another machine and it refused to charge up...Time will tell about the new battery lasting. Thanks again for your comments..I agree that such problems are an ideal opportunity to rip people off and perhaps I have been stitched up....we'll see.

Oct 30, 2011, 02:18 AM	Thread Starter #7
Borodin HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Re: Compaq Presario C500 help please..... You were quite right my friend. I plugged the new battery in and left it for two hours. When I returned it showed a 74% charge (I assumed this was going 'up'..I have a terrible feeling it was coming 'down' from 100% and the battery was fully charged already). The battery level dropped and dropped even though the laptop showed it as charging on the HP meter. It eventually reached 0% and the machine switched itself off again. Obviously no power is reaching the machine/battery when a charger is plugged in and I have tried a couple which I know are the right ones. Will get it checked out by a local computer shop...wondering if it's the jack socket which is faulty or maybe a connection to the motherboard. At least it stayed on long enough for me to copy the wife's Christmas Card list which is all she was bothered about (typical !). Moral of the story ? Listen To Judas !

Oct 30, 2011, 04:13 PM	Thread Starter #9
Borodin HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Re: Compaq Presario C500 help please..... Hello again, Took my laptop into town and had it assessed by three different firms all with the same diagnosis...the power board has blown and no charge being received to either battery or PC. Estimates ranged from £90 to £140 inc labour. Bearing in mind the age of the thing I have declined...bought a suitable caddy for £10 and transferred all my files to disc. Will try and sell the battery I just bought and also the 4Gb of RAM. Hard drive only 80Gb and contains much valued information so I will destroy it. Thanks again for your advice and help Judas, much appreciated.