Laptop batteries degrade over time, and the battery life you enjoy when you buy a laptop decreases as the laptop ages.

  A battery failure can be a scary problem, as it can cause your laptop to shut down abruptly and the work files you're editing will be lost. Even prevents it from starting when not plugged in.

1. Swollen battery

If your laptop case is swollen, as if it's a little burst at the seams - you most likely have a swollen battery.

This is a huge fire risk - the batteries in laptops are full of volatile chemicals, and when the battery starts to swell, there is a high chance of a fire.

2. Try charging

To determine if your battery is at fault, connect your laptop to external power via the laptop's power cable.

Leave the laptop off overnight to give it enough time to try charging. Once it's turned on and Windows loads, go into desktop mode and look at the battery icon in the system tray. Mouse over the icon to see status messages and a percentage indicating your battery level.

If it says "plugged in, charging", your battery is working, even though the charging capacity has dropped significantly since you bought the laptop.

If the status message says "0% available (plugged in, not charging)", then your battery isn't delivering power, which probably means it's really dead. Alternatively, if the icon shows the battery with a red "X" next to it, Windows cannot detect your battery.

3. Physical cleaning

Please actually check your current battery by shutting down the computer, unplugging the power cord, and removing the battery. Dust may have gotten between the laptop and the metal contacts of the battery that aid in charging. Gently clean the contacts with a cloth dampened with alcohol, reinsert and check the battery status in the system tray again.

4. Test

There are many computer programs designed to test various aspects of batteries. Using one of these programs can help you diagnose the problem. Programs such as Battery Eater, Notebook Hardware Control, and Smarter Battery measure statistics such as the average battery charge time, how long it takes to charge, full charge capacity, and how long it takes to use a charge.

The manufacturer of your laptop can even create its own programs to test and diagnose battery problems, such as HP System Diagnostic Tool, Toshiba's PC Health Monitor, and Dell PC Diagnostics.

5. Alternatives

Your battery will inevitably run out at some point. If that time comes, the only thing to do is to replace it. Take it off and check its model.

Please buy new batteries from quality manufacturers, you can find the model you need at: BatteryMall.com

If you want to know more about laptop batteries, please go to:BatteryMall.com/blogs/support