I've been using a Vaio Picturebook (C1XD) for the last few months. A few days ago, while on charge, I heard a high-pitch noise coming from either the laptop or the battery. After wiggling the power lead, it stopped. Now the battery only lasts only 10 minutes from a full charge, instead of 1 hour as it did before the sqeaking. It won't charge unless it's totally empty too. I'm not sure if it's the psu or the battery that's the problem. Can li-ion batteries go bad as quickly as that?
You need to be careful, the noise might have been one of the batteries cooking off. Call sony and tell them the battery made a noise and got super hot, and now it won't charge. You're probably SOL because sony only warranties their laptop batteries for 90 days. Why I would never buy sony.
The laptop is well out of warranty. I've had good use out of the battery, but I expected it to gradually get weaker, rather than stop holding a charge overnight. That's what puzzled me. I've ordered a new battery, so hopefully it'll get me up and running again.
How old is it? If it's the original and from 2005-2006 then it might be part of the bad batch of exploding batteries that sony made to make extra money. Go to their site and look up on how to determine if the battery falls under the recall. Free battery .
It's a more recent battery than the exploding ones. I fitted a new one and it's still acting strange. After hours of googling, it seems to be a commom problem with Vaio's. Someone suggested powering up from the mains, then inserting the battery which worked for me. Still don't know what causes the problem in the first place though...
Batteries can die within their warranty - if a machine is past its warranty, don't expect miracles from the battery. It's common to see failures. Don't constantly run the laptop on the mains, either - quick way to kill the battery. Make sure you regularly let the battery discharge fully.
