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Sentia 223 - Battery Woes

post #1 of 9
8/7/06 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
I have a 223 that I love, but have been having constant battery issues with.

It started about a year ago. I was getting less and less battery life out of the machine. For a while, I left it constantly plugged in. Knowing this isn't the best thing for batteries, I wrote it off as a battery going bad, and ordered a new one.

Now I have a fresh battery, and for a while it seemed like it was improving, but now I'm back at square 1. Battery life while surfing wirelessly is "maybe" 45 mins top.

When I first got the machine, I could surf for about 3 hours, while doing work, and playing music.

I know heat can be a killer on batteries, and i noticed that I never see my cooling fan on, on the bottom of the machine.

For the time being I ordered a cooler pad as a bandaid, but I think the fan is bad. Anyone else have a problem with the cooling fan, know a way to test it, or where to get a replacement?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm at my wit's end with a $2k laptop that only last 45 mins.....
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post #2 of 9
8/7/06 at 12:00pm
try getthermal, it has fan throttles on it and you can test your fan, just google getthermal
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post #3 of 9
8/7/06 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cHRoNiCauST
try getthermal, it has fan throttles on it and you can test your fan, just google getthermal

thanks! I'll have to give it a try tonight when I get home.

Guessing this will confirm whether or not the fan is a dud.

anyone have any ideas where I can get a fan/heatsink, should it truly prove bad?
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post #4 of 9
8/7/06 at 2:10pm
try http://excelcomputerinc.com and see if they have the right things. If that doesn't work see if AlienWare will sell you one.
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post #5 of 9
8/7/06 at 2:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cHRoNiCauST
try http://excelcomputerinc.com and see if they have the right things. If that doesn't work see if AlienWare will sell you one.

negative on alienware. already called them and they want me to send the machine in, at some ridiculous labor rate that makes a car dealer look cheap.

i need to pull the back cover off of the machine and see if I can see the fan. perhaps I can match one up from that website.

thanks again.

side note, would doing a "respawn" on the machine help any? I know alot of the power management, as well as the fan controls, are software regulated. any chance a fresh start might help?
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post #6 of 9
8/7/06 at 2:19pm
You never know... Stranger things have happened.
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post #7 of 9
8/14/06 at 11:29pm

I am having the same problem

I had the exact same symptoms you had with your battery. I am still under warranty with Alienware. I called them to day for a second time. They are nolonger making the 223 and are out of stock of batteries. I am calling tomorrow to see if they have any progress with the battery.
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post #8 of 9
8/15/06 at 4:14am
Uniwill still has them(i think), all black only though
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post #9 of 9
8/22/06 at 4:55pm
I have this problem too, ive had the laptop about a year and I bought 2 batteries luckily. One of them has completely stopped working and wont charge at all. and the second one used to last about 3 hours but now only lasts about an hour and a half. I cant run the laptop off AC power because it overheats every 2 minutes.

Whats the model number of the uniwill battery which would fit the sentia 233??
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