Q on battery calibration after reading KBs
I have a late model unibody Macbook Pro 17" with the 1000 cycle battery; and I've read the Apple information regarding battery calibration, (along with
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220), as well as comments by Mac users,
The confusing part to me is that in the article I sited below, it states:
+Failure to do so for a long period of time can result in the microchip "fuel gauge" in the battery losing the ability to accurately determine the remaining charge, and it will report that there is more charge in the battery than is actually present. As a result, the computer will not initiate Safe Sleep at the proper time, and instead undergo a hard shut down, one of the main causes of hard drive directory damage. Once the battery is in the state resulting from a failure to calibrate, it is not possible to calibrate the battery, and it will need to be replaced.+
First of all, this sounds like if you fail to calibrate frequently enough, then if you do calibrate, you ruin the battery and it has to be replaced. Is that correct?
If it is correct, then it seems fantastically irresponsible to tell people that recalibration really isn't necessary if you use your battery regularly, because if the "fuel gauge" gets off, your screwed.
So, if I am using my UMBP in the on-the-train scenario Apple states as ideal (which sounds like the first hour of the day w/o the charger, then on the charger), calibrate or no, and every one month or every three?
Also, how can running the battery to 0% be bad for it, but calibration (running it to 0% every once in a while) not be bad for it?
And isn't it nerve wracking to calibrate and not really know if the battery will survive the calibration if you forgot to do it for a while? That is what the quote above implies.
Just as little confused is all.
The confusing part to me is that in the article I sited below, it states:
+Failure to do so for a long period of time can result in the microchip "fuel gauge" in the battery losing the ability to accurately determine the remaining charge, and it will report that there is more charge in the battery than is actually present. As a result, the computer will not initiate Safe Sleep at the proper time, and instead undergo a hard shut down, one of the main causes of hard drive directory damage. Once the battery is in the state resulting from a failure to calibrate, it is not possible to calibrate the battery, and it will need to be replaced.+
First of all, this sounds like if you fail to calibrate frequently enough, then if you do calibrate, you ruin the battery and it has to be replaced. Is that correct?
If it is correct, then it seems fantastically irresponsible to tell people that recalibration really isn't necessary if you use your battery regularly, because if the "fuel gauge" gets off, your screwed.
So, if I am using my UMBP in the on-the-train scenario Apple states as ideal (which sounds like the first hour of the day w/o the charger, then on the charger), calibrate or no, and every one month or every three?
Also, how can running the battery to 0% be bad for it, but calibration (running it to 0% every once in a while) not be bad for it?
And isn't it nerve wracking to calibrate and not really know if the battery will survive the calibration if you forgot to do it for a while? That is what the quote above implies.
Just as little confused is all.
iMac, UMBP, Mac OS X (10.6)
