"Consider replacing your battery" - Satellite Pro C650

Question

Hi,
I recently sent an email to [email protected] to try and sort out a possible battery / battery reading problem on my Toshiba Satellite C650 that I have owned for under a year (is therefore covered under warranty).
Yesterday, I received a follow up call from the Toshiba computer technical support number and was asked to conduct a few tests to see whether they would resolve the problem:
1) Check whether the BIOS version was up to date, which it was (_BIOS version 2.00_) as confirmed by clicking F2 on start up.
2) Uninstall the old version of the program "Toshiba Value Added Package" then go to the mytoshiba.com.au site, enter the laptop model/part number and _download the latest Value Added Package_, followed by a reboot.
I was provided with a reference number to call back with in case these tests didn't fix the problem, however, I do not have a fixed phone where I am and rely on calling with a mobile phone (which is quite costly, especially when being put on hold). I was hoping to receive some sort of help on these forums.
*As the tests did not fix the problem I was encountering, where do I go from here?*
Any help is appreciated, thanks.
Here are some of the finer details regarding the problem: {pasted from an email I sent to customer relations}
"From what I can tell, the AC adaptor (charger) works fine since it is able to charge the lithium-ion battery that the laptop came with and the orange light at the front of the laptop indicates that the adaptor is plugged in and is charging). However, recently whenever I unplugged the AC adaptor, I received a notice when I clicked on the battery meter icon on the desktop. It says: "Consider replacing your battery. There is a problem with your battery, so your computer might shut down suddenly." There is also a red cross that appears over the battery icon. Despite what the notification says, it appears that the problem may be more complex than that.
Today, I noticed that despite the AC adaptor not being plugged in and the battery meter reading "0%", the laptop did not shut down or hibernate - it remained working. Other times, the battery meter will warn me that there is little charge left and shuts down (sometimes only after 15 minutes). Before I received the notification of "Consider replacing your battery", the laptop battery would last at least 1½ hours without having the AC plugged in. I have also had this laptop less than a year and taken good care of the battery, allowing it to discharge every so often then recharging it after. It makes little sense that the battery now lasts 15 minutes or less.
Since the battery meter was apparently at 0% and did not shut down this evening, I suspect that the problem may have something to do with the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery or at least the device that reads the battery charge. From my observations, it seems to be misjudging the % of charge and therefore sometimes shuts down prematurely, even though there is more charge remaining than estimated.
I have been following some of the Toshiba support forums (online) and other computer help forums and this ‘battery/battery reading' issue seems to be something a number of other laptop users have/are experiencing, especially when a user installs a Windows 7 operating system on a laptop that was bought with a preinstalled Windows XP operating system. I would like to emphasise that this laptop came with a preinstalled Windows 7 operating system and I have not changed operating systems at any time.
I have also read that users with this problem, in some cases attempted to fix the notification of "Consider replacing your battery" by following the notifications advice and buying a new battery fitted to their exact laptop model but apparently it did not resolve."

Answer 1

>I have also read that users with this problem, in some cases attempted to fix the notification of "Consider replacing your battery" by following the notifications advice and buying a new battery fitted to their exact laptop model but apparently it did not resolve."
Well, in my opinion you should definitely try a new battery.
If all the updates (BIOS, VAP, etc) didnt help then a new battery should be tested. Of course it would be better to test this before purchasing a new battery so maybe you have to get in contact with an ASP in your country and have to clear this in direct contact with agent.
You said that the warranty is valid therefore the notebook should be fixed free of charge. But you should consider that battery is covered by warranty one year long.