BATTERY NOT CHARGING / 0% Not showing up in System Report

Does the MacBook work when on the charger? If so, go to the apple at the left side of the menu bar, About This Mac, More Info, System Report, Hardware, Power and what does it say about battery Condition, Capacity, Cycle Count, and down under AC Charger Information, what does it say about the charger?

I would suggest trying again to get the System Report information...if it keeps saying that there is an error getting the information, then the machine is pretty sick and needs a visit to the Apple store genius bar for diagnosis by an Apple technician (that is free).

A backup is a very good idea with that behavior.

But the system report indicates a good battery, a condition of Normal is what you want to see. The cycle count of 626 i getting up there for that vintage machine, assuming you have a machine from around 2009 since the battery is removable. But it looks like the battery is still fine.

Can you get a different charger/cable to test with? See if there is an issue with the charger or cable.

If it continues to give this on and off behavior, have an Apple genius bar tech run their diagnoses to see if there is a system issue, and be sure to take the charger and cable along so they can check those at the same time.

You are very welcome...since you are now backing up, that is a great sign 🙂

If the machine acts up, have it tested.

Don't believe all the stuff being said about Lithium-Ion batteries around here: studies have found that discharging a Lithium-Ion battery to 50% and then recharging will give three to four times and battery life of regular discharge to shutdown. Leaving a battery on the charger will not (in general) harm the battery. Apple charging circuitry shuts down when the charge gets to 100% (may say 99% depending on system accuracy) and then the laptop runs on line power until the charge drops to 93-95% (trickle down effect). Then the charging circuit restarts and tops up the battery.

The caveate is, take the portable off the charger periodically, I make sure I do that monthly if ooperating stationary a lot, so you exercise the battery. Run it down half way and then recharge.

The biggest enemy of the battery is heat and cold...if you have the machine out in the cold for a period of time let it warm to room temp before starting it or plugging it in.

The cycle count thing - Lithium-Ion batteries are quoted to have a charge cycle life of 350-1,000 cycles depending on the vintage of the battery. The cycle count life really means that is the point at which the charge capacity drops to 80% of the as-built capacity...not the real failure point. Cycles are accumulated fractionally, discharge to shutdown is a full cycle, discharge to 50% is half of a cycle, and so on.

Just some tips on battery usage.

You are very welcome

That certainly adds another wrinkle...a number of iPad users have had issues with their batteries when installed in certain cases. You could be seeing a similar effect. If the new batter has the same behavior pattern I would not be happy about the case.

Take care inserting the memory and be sure to seat it properly...they are sometimes a pain to get seated so patience.