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Microsoft Denies Windows 7 Battery BugMicrosoft Denies Windows 7 Battery Bug
Software maker says investigation shows the OS isn't an energy hog and doesn't issue false warnings about failing power cells.
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Microsoft is disputing Internet reports that claim its new Windows 7 operating system drains laptop batteries at an unusually fast rate or, at times, falsely warns users that their battery is about to fail.
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"At this time we have no reason to believe there is any issue related to Windows 7 in this context," said Windows group president Steven Sinofsky, in a blog post Tuesday.
"To the very best of the collective ecosystem knowledge, Windows 7 is correctly warning batteries that are in fact failing and Windows 7 is neither incorrectly reporting on battery status nor in any way whatsoever causing batteries to reach this state," said Sinofsky.
"In every case we have been able to identify the battery being reported on was in fact in need of recommended replacement," said Sinofsky.
His comments counter numerous user reports on Microsoft's support forum and tech blogs that suggests Windows 7 causes batteries to fail prematurely or issues bogus replacement warnings.
"Unbelievable!" wrote forum member RVBoston, in a post last week. "It is Feb 2010, so this issue is already 8 months old and no fix from MS?"
Another user, Mnemeth, also complained that the problem has been ongoing for months. "It was working fine then all of a sudden, around the 1st or 2nd week of October 09, it wouldn't hold a long charge and I got the error," the user wrote.
But Sinofsky said Microsoft's investigation uncovered no evidence of a problem.
"To date all such steps indicate that we do have customers seeing reports of battery health issues and in all cases we have investigated Windows 7 has simply accurately detected a failing battery," he said.
Sinofsky said it's normal for laptop power cells to start to lose their ability to hold a charge after about a year, and said users who are experiencing trouble should purchase a new battery.
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