FAQ - Frequent Asked Questions

BatteryCare and Windows 8

BatteryCare is fully compatible with Windows 8 (not RT). It works in desktop mode, similar to Windows 7. However you might notice that you don't get the temperature readings by default. This is because BatteryCare needs elevated permissions to do this and Windows 8 does not grant it by default. Unlike Windows 7, in Windows 8 disabling UAC will not solve the issue.

If you want to access the full features of BatteryCare in Windows 8 then you have have it run by default in Administrator mode. To to this, just go to BatteryCare settings panel, then "Advanced", then select "Run the program in Administrator mode at startup" and then Save. Now the next time you boot Windows, BatteryCare will run with no limitations and temperature readings feature will be enabled as well as the Service Pausing in battery mode feature.

The program crashes during the auto-update process

This problem is caused by a bug introduced only in the installer of version 0.9.7.10, to fix it you just have to follow these three simple steps:

1 - Uninstall BatteryCare using the Windows Start Menu or the Control Panel;

2 - Download the latest version of BatteryCare;

3 - Install the new version.

The program does not display the CPU/HDD temperatures

BatteryCare needs Administrator previleges to read CPU temperature. As any temperature reading software, it's necessary to access low level areas of the Operating System.

The Cause: In Windows Vista or Seven, the User Account Control (UAC) when activated, blocks the access to any program that tries to access this information. The Services suspend feature is also limited by this.

The Solutions:

3 - Go to the Settings panel then in the Advanced tab, check "Run at startup in Administrator mode".

2 - Use the BatteryCare UAC bypass tool in order to run BatteryCare at startup with Administrator privileges and without limitations, keeping UAC activated. This will allow the program to run with full features.

3 - You can disable UAC, and the program will run always without limitations. However, this action is not recommend to less experienced users, because it can compromise the system security.

If after this, the temperatures are not being displayed, it might be a compatibility issue with your hardware.

It's impossible to install the program

In case you cannot install the program through the installer, download the portable version. If the program fails to run after the install process, keep in mind that you need to have the Microsoft .NET 2.0 platform installed.

In Windows Seven the application icon does not show in the tray

Windows Seven hides the application tray icons by default. To make it always show the BatteryCare icon, you must go to the taskbar properties and configure the application icons you want to be always showed.

The icon disappears in battery mode

The icon does not disappears, it is converted to text, indicating the percentage and remaining time when the computer runs on batteries. It may not be visible when the taskbar is the same color as the icon (white by default). In that case, you must go change the icon colour in the options panel.

The battery is new but BatteryCare reports a high wear level

Laptop batteries are made by energy cells. In general they are 6 cells, but larger capacity batteries have 8 or 12 cells (or even more). A 6 cell battery has an average of 60000mWh of capacity when it's manufactured, the larger ones have an higher value obviously. The problem is that there are batteries that come factory programmed as being 8 or 12 cells, but in fact they just have 6 cells. So in the designed capacity, these batteries report a value corresponding to the larger batteries, for example 88000mWh, but since the battery only has 6 cells, the current capacity value is 60000mWh, which gives us a wear level of 31.8%. So if the battery is new, there's no reason to worry about. It's just a badly programmed battery.

How does the statistical remaining time calculation works?

If a laptop does not report the remaining time, BatteryCare automatically calculates it. It does it like this:

The time that took to discharge the last 5% is registered, then it's calculated the average of each percentage of those 5% and finally we can find out the remaining time by doing simple math. This is a good thing because it estimates the remaining time based on the recent computer behaviour.

Some values in the detailed information page do not show and/or are incorrect

Since there are no standards that oblige all manufacturers to follow the same battery programming rules, each one does what it wants. So we have batteries that can hide some data and even report incorrect values. Most of times it's not a BatteryCare reading bug, it's just a battery with limited information.

Is it possible to lower the wear level?

No. Generally only in new batteries that are not calibrated yet, the wear level can be slightly lower. On the other cases, the tendency is that the battery degrades over time and usage, as it's natural of it's chemical nature. What we can do is minimise that wear, using BatteryCare, whose main purpose is that.

The auto update failed, now what?

Since the program is in constant evolution, there may be modifications that make it impossible to update automatically. In that case, the user should uninstall the program (the configurations and database are kept safe) and install the most recent version available in the website.

Over what CPU temperature should I be worried?

It depends of many factors, but my experience as an aceftpOverclocker tells me that CPU temperature values over 60�C are not recommended. If the laptop is constantly at these kind of temperatures, it's convenient to do something to minimise it. In case these temperatures are only achieved when using the laptop intensively (games, etc.) then, there's no reason to worry.

BatteryCare has any kind of cost?

No! It's Free, everyone can use it! For now, only I have costs with the hosting server and with caffe�ne.

If you want to help or buy me a coffee, you can make a donation. I'll appreciate it. :-)

Who's behind the BatteryCare project?

Well, just me, Filipe Lourenço. It all started when I felt I had to learn more about my laptop battery maintenance, since that in the beginning, because I was ignorant about the subject, I damaged two batteries in less than a year. So then I started making an application that could help me control the battery discharge cycles. The program has been growing and now it's with great pleasure that I share it with the rest of the world. :-)