I have the 2.53Ghz, 4MB RAM, 320-7200RPM HD. The other night I unplugged it from the AC adapter and left it closed and supposedly in sleep mode for almost 24 hours. When I came back to use it the next night, the battery had drained all the way down and I couldn't restart it. This just doesn't seem normal."
In past MacBook models users were able to keep the computers in sleep mode for days and lose charge at only a few percentage points per day. The new models drain power at the rate of a few percentage points per hour. This problem seems to be an issue that affects many users, and seems to be coupled with the PA3465U-1BRS computer going into hibernation much sooner than expected when in sleep mode.
Additionally, users have noticed problems when trying to calibrate the MacBook's battery. In order to calibrate the battery, users need to charge it up fully and then let it run down to the point where the computer goes to sleep. This allows the computer to measure the full capacity of the battery and better determine the actual charge left in the battery during usage. When users drain the Satellite A100 battery, the computer does not go into sleep mode, and instead seems to either go into "deep sleep/hibernate" mode or completely shut down. This could be the normal calibration behavior of the new MacBooks, but it differs from previous models and as such is probably not supposed to happen.
This problem could be due to poorly written drivers for the new MacBook hardware, or could require a firmware update. The Satellite A105 battery chipset is completely different than previous MacBooks, and the systems include many other new hardware features such as DDR3 as the system RAM, and dual GPUs. It is clear the drivers for the system have been crudely thrown together for now, exemplified by the need for users to log out upon enabling or disabling the dedicated video processor in the MacBook Pros. This feature should be dynamically changeable, but currently this is not coded into the drivers.
For now, Apple's drivers will have to play catch-up with the new technology, and hopefully in the next OS update the power draining issues will be resolved. However, for now users might benefit from trying the following.
Potential Fixes
Reset PRAM and SMC Users can try resetting the computer's PRAM and system management controller to see if that helps the situation, since these hold some hardware parameters used for power management. To reset the PRAM, reboot the system and hold the options-command-P-R keys all at once until the system makes the boot chimes, and then resets and makes the boot chimes again. Hold the keys until this cycle happens 2-3 times, and then allow the computer to boot normally. To reset the system management controller on the new MacBooks, turn off the computer, unplug it, and then open the hatch and remove the Satellite A80 battery. When this is done press and hold the power button for 5-10 seconds, and then plug everything back in and start it up again.
Try alternate settings In addition to hardware resets, users might try setting their computers to more power-conservative settings such as turning off the dedicated GPU for MacBook pros, and spinning down the hard drives, etc. Many of these options are in the Energy Saver system preferences pane. Satellite M100 battery.
Peter Roth at Sandia National Labs is conducting research on the durability and reliability of lithium-ion batteries, which are expected to power plug-in hybrids and electric cars in the future. Lithium-ion batteries store more energy than conventional batteries--six times as much as lead acid and two to three times as much as nickel metal hydride batteries, according to Sandia. However, lithium-ion cells can have unfortunate side effects.
Namely, an internal short circuit can lead to fire and a nasty explosion. In 2006, Sony had to conduct a multimillion-dollar PA3399U-1BAS recall because some had caught fire in notebooks. The potential damage is higher in a car because electric cars will contain thousands of cells, rather than six or nine, like a notebook. The inside of a car is also a more hostile environment than the one where you ordinarily use your notebooks.
So Roth is driving nails into PA3399U-2BAS, heating them up to extreme temperatures, overcharging them, and having other types of fun. That's Roth in the photo to the right preparing to blow up some batteries. The other photo shows the results of his research.
"We look at fundamental chemistry, wanting to discover the kinds of gases they emit when they are heated and explode," Roth said in a prepared statement. "We also build smaller prototype PA3399U-1BRS that, once we get the chemistry right, may eventually be built full size to go into vehicles."
On a positive note, many of the latest lithium-ion batteries sold for power tools are actually quite resilient, he noted, and can withstand adverse conditions better than many other types of PA3399U-2BRS.
Namely, an internal short circuit can lead to fire and a nasty explosion. In 2006, Sony had to conduct a multimillion-dollar PA3399U-1BAS recall because some had caught fire in notebooks. The potential damage is higher in a car because electric cars will contain thousands of cells, rather than six or nine, like a notebook. The inside of a car is also a more hostile environment than the one where you ordinarily use your notebooks.
So Roth is driving nails into PA3399U-2BAS, heating them up to extreme temperatures, overcharging them, and having other types of fun. That's Roth in the photo to the right preparing to blow up some batteries. The other photo shows the results of his research.
"We look at fundamental chemistry, wanting to discover the kinds of gases they emit when they are heated and explode," Roth said in a prepared statement. "We also build smaller prototype PA3399U-1BRS that, once we get the chemistry right, may eventually be built full size to go into vehicles."
On a positive note, many of the latest lithium-ion batteries sold for power tools are actually quite resilient, he noted, and can withstand adverse conditions better than many other types of PA3399U-2BRS.