this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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Technology

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Would you buy a new battery for a very old laptop? (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago by Mummelpuffin@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
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I just got a pretty good deal on an old ThinkPad (think 10 years old now) to use as a beater for screwing with ArchLinux and hopefully to find a real use for. It's in great shape like it was never really used, but big shock, the battery is at 50% effective capacity and what's there disappears in less than an hour.

Would you bother buying a battery replacement for it? On one hand I want it to actually be usable on the go because that was sort of the point. On the other, while replacement batteries exist, I'm worried that they're already very old themselves and already "expired". Would you take the chance? I don't want to let this thing go to waste when it's still perfectly usable, in fact it's pretty fast.

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[–] Gormadt@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Depending on price I might go for it

I did spend like $40 on a battery for a 10 year old laptop a few years ago so that I could keep using it for troubleshooting a remote network I setup up awhile ago because it's cheaper than a new laptop.

Personally I'd see if you can find a new compatible battery not necessarily an OEM battery though as being new it's probably going to last awhile.

[–] Mummelpuffin@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

How would you know if it's actually new, though? I'd assume even third-party replacements have been sitting on a shelf for years.
It's really just making me think that laptops are terrifyingly wasteful and I've been right to not bother owning one.