Ubuntu reports low battery capacity on my Dell Vostro

Posted by Jeff on Ask Ubuntu See other posts from Ask Ubuntu or by Jeff
Published on 2012-03-20T14:58:33Z Indexed on 2012/03/20 23:39 UTC
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battery

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I have a Dell Vostro 1500. Before I wiped Windows XP off my hard drive in 2009, I had a full ~7 hrs battery capacity. I installed Ubuntu 9, and the capacity immediately dropped to about 27% (and has since decreased to about 11%). I couldn't figure out what to do, so I've just lived with the 20-30 minute battery life ever since.

I upgraded to Ubuntu 10, and the issue remained. I wiped my hard drive clean again and installed Ubuntu 11, and the issue still remains. I tried what they told me in the forum here, but it didn't do anything.

Is it possible for a battery to suddenly lose most of its capacity?? Or is there a bug in the power management software?

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