I was wondering why in the situation where a laptop is permanently plugged into mains, if you leave the battery in, it drops dead just as quick if not quicker than a battery in a laptop which is more often running on battery? yet if you take the battery out and put it in the cupboard, after the same period of time, the battery is in almost perfect health?

I know that even on mains power the Laptop is regularly charging the battery to keep it at full capacity,, but seriously, Why in this day and age is technology so primitive that it cannot manage a way of not burning out batteries while on mains power?

And why do laptop manufacturers go to the extent of making it difficult or even impossible to take the battery out?? (in terms of actually running it without the battery)

I think the answer there is heat. That and the fact that the batteries oxidize over time whether or not you use them and a battery that's permanently plugged in is actually charging and discharging more or less continously.

Mostly due to chemistry, and physics ;) Sorry I had to - the battery is a piece of technology that hasn't changed much in a veeerrrrrrryyyyyyy long time (thousands of years perhaps) and not for lack of very smart people trying. The reason - it's a very tough cookie to crack

How tough? I'm no expert but it seems simple enough to me - The way i would do it, i would provide recharge options, so If you know your laptop will run off the mains you can tell it not to recharge the battery or set it to check for recharging every month only or something like that. Simple!

Edit: Really we are both talking about a completely different thing - your talking about the nature of the battery itself, whereas I'm talking about how the battery is used.

Wait a minute, why am i posting that idea? people can make millions from new apps!!

Er, ah... I'll be right back... I have a patent to file for the new Ixamyakxim laptop battery switch. But ya you're right I was talking more about the nature of the battery - I was also being a bit snarky as well because I just couldn't resist - yes I might be a bit obnoxious ;)

Speaking of switches - i have actually considered redirecting the wiring to the battery and installing a switch to disconnect it completely. But i did not do it because the laptop is programmed not to run without battery.

Now that i think of it, i know why the laptop (Not all laptop) will not run without battery - it is designed with safeguards to prevent alternative brand battery being used. Even my bosses old Dell computer would not run even with its own battery when the battery was so dead (but plugged into mains) that the computer could not recognize it.

Edit: on further though, possibly only Dell assehole enough to do that, i don't actually recall any other brand of laptop doing that?