How to tell if it is the battery or something else?

Question

I have an HP Compaq nc8430 notebook.

Recently the original battery no longer works. I can still use it while plugged in, but Windows control panel power options says "Battery NOT PRESENT" so it can't even see the battery.

I don't know if it's the battery itself that went bad, or something else. So I purchased a new generic battery from an eBay retailer, and after I plugged it in, it still says battery not present.

A friend of mine says try a new OEM battery. However, I have an OEM battery that it can't see, and a replacement generic battery that it can't see.

Is there anything I can do to diagnose whether the problem is the battery or something else on the computer?

Thanks,

Answer 1

I guess you can try reset the CMOS battery, see if that helps. Or load up another OS like Linux on a LiveCD to see if the system recognizes the battery. 99.99% of the time when Windows says "battery not present", that battery is gone.