Hey everyone! Been having some issues with my lappy, so I've been using it very rarely>.<

Here is my issue: I've had my Dell Inspiron 1501 for probably 6 or 7 years(maybe 10?), so I don't know if that could be why. Maybe its time to buy a new battery? I bought a new charger for it, but it still says either "battery not detected" or "plugged in and charging" but my battery power is still at 0%. And there's an "X" on the battery icon showing that it's not plugged in, even though it is. If I unplug my laptop, it will die within 3 or 6 minutes...Its terrible. I've already bought a new charger and it didn't work, and I just don't want to go out and buy a new battery if that's not even the problem. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

I used t have that problem on my old laptop - having the charger plugged in whenever I'd use the laptop. The new charger was a waste of money unfortunately, the battery has lost its ability to hold a charge. So only options are buy new battery, buy new laptop, or keep the charger plugged in.

Most likely the battery is the problem. In fact, I wish you would have bought the battery first, since that's usually why laptops stop holding a charge. KG was having a similar problem, her battery power went down to about 20 minutes unplugged, so I bought her a brand new 6 cell, and she's back up to about 3-4 hours, depending on her usage. Just look over your laptop for a model number (Usually on a sticker on the back, but often on the edge of the screen, too) and search "that number" battery in google.

Aaaaw, my poor baby. O.O Im relieved that its the battery and not some other complex problem. Thanks guys for the replies. Oh and also, could my weak battery effect the performance of my lappy, too? I mean, like, make it slower? O_o

ElectroGirl : Hi, no I don't think that it can really make your computer slower. At least that did not happen to my old laptop when its battery didn't work anymore. That wouldn't happen normally, I guess.

ElectroGirl : My net book has/had that problem, apparently my mom tripped on the wire and pulled the outlet(?) with it a bit on the net book, so with out knowing this by hand we got a new charger thinking she messed up wiring inside the charger cable, apparently if we have it settled or pull it at a certain way it will charge, but it is rare, this net book is about 2-3 years old by Acer and it has taken more beatings then I have seen other ones turn to dust if they fall, but any how maybe it can be your computer's outlet, right now I have the cord pulled to the side and "away" from the charger for it to get a small charge, does faint in and out though. So if you do get a new battery and it doesn't you can have the same problem as me, and trust me it's not really cheap to do it now, and the way people do it in tutorials are just" either this can work or my no leveled experience can mess this up." it would suck to buy a new computer now days with the economy going down then raising then falling down so low.

beavisjr : Yeah, I have an acer thats like that, too. I can't unplug it AT ALL or it will go off, instantly.

I had to buy a new battery. My advice? Go to Best Buy, and go to the Geek Squad counter. Take your laptop with you. I promise, they will get you a cheap battery that works. Toshiba wanted $120... I payed $49 buying it through Best Buy's part store

ElectroGirl : It's possible, if the battery is really bad, because it could be sending bad power signals to the processor. If it's slow with the battery completely taken out, though, something else is causing the slowdowns.