Plugged in, not charging

[arohrbach]

I have an HP Pavilion Entertainment PC.  I am having an issue with the battery charging.  I get the "plugged in, not charging" scenario.  I have read all the posts and have tried all the suggestions such as uninstalling and reinstalling the battery drivers and so forth.  Here is my problem.

My battery is new therefore, I know it is not that.  I perform a battery check and the system says the battery is good and that it is currently charging.  However, the battery icon on my lower right screen says it is plugged in, not charging.  The computer will completely drain the battery in about 30 minutes even though the computer is plugged in.  If I take the battery out of the laptop and pop it back in, the computer will start charging the battery again.  Once it reaches a 90% charge, it goes back to saying plugged in not charging again and drains the battery all over again.

I don't understand the disconnect between the HP battery check saying it is charging and the icon saying it is not then draining my battery completely.  Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thank you.

[Geek-9pm]

Welcome!
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Thank you for a nice,clear description of your problem.
A couple of questions.
   1. What is the exact model number of your laptop?
   2. You say the battery is new. How new?  Six months?

[arohrbach]

The model is an HP Pavilion DV7 and I purchased the battery in November.  I also replaced the charging cord.  I have done tons of virus scans.  The only thing I can do at this point is pop the battery out then pop it back in.  the laptop charges for about 10 minutes then the computer drains the battery again even though it is plugged in.  If I pop the batter out the computer shuts down even though the electrical cord is plugged in.  I am just about to give up.

[Geek-9pm]

If I pop the batter out the computer shuts down even though the electrical cord is plugged in.

That can not be normal behavior for a laptop.
You laptop has a serious internal hardware issue.
OR
Something has happened to the power supply. The photos I have seen of these and generic replacements are for units that vary in price from $10 up to $90, leading one to believe there is a wide range of quality in these units.

Did you replace just the cord or the whole AC adapter?

Your laptop should not consume more than about 45 watts maximum.

[arohrbach]

I replaced the entire AC cord adapter.  Purchased the items at Best Buy.  I agree, this is not normal behavior for a laptop.  I guess I am just going to have to scrap this one and buy a new one.....    because I can't see paying the Geek Squad the amount of money it would cost to analyze and repair it.

[arohrbach]

sorry...just found the full model  it is a HP Pavilion dv7-1247d

[Geek-9pm]

At this point I don't want to guess anymore. I have been a certified tech for years. Without some diagnostics it is a shot in the dark.

Repairing a motherboard should not be done by a technician who rarely works on laptops. It should be done in a establishment that does factory-certified repair.

Possibly replacing the on-board regulators will fix the problem. But the labor cost may be more than want you want to pay.

[truenorth]

I would want to verify the actual condition of the adapter before i went any deeper. If the purchase of this adapter was relatively recent (probably less than a year) it may still be warrantied either by Best-buy or the manufacturer. In any event provided you have a record of the purchase you may be able to replace it that way. If you have access to a multi tester you could also with the device plugged into a 110v outlet use the multi tester to see if indeed there is any current coming out of the other side (the end that plugs into the computer). Be sure to set the parameters of the multi tester to be appropriate for what should be the output (likely will be in the 12-15 volt DC range). If your local best buy is a cooperative retailer they too should be able to test if free of charge for you. However i would NOT yet replace it (as it may turn out that it does function and the problem may be as Geek has suggested). But check it 1st. truenorth