February 3, 2010 – For many users, the migration from Windows Vista to Windows 7, immediately upon its release, was a no-brainer. Why? In addition to improvements in OS stability and security, from Windows Vista to Windows 7, the possibility of increasing battery life for notebooks was welcomed with open arms. Unfortunately, it seems that this last potential benefit may now be in doubt, if widespread reports of severely reduced battery life are true. Complaints include the diminishing of battery performance from 6-8 hours to 40 minutes. Other state notebooks enter into premature sleep mode, with 40% of the battery power remaining.
The exact nature or scope of the problem isn’t currently known. As usual, Microsoft doesn’t seem to have any official word on the subject. A search of the Microsoft Support Center, Windows Team Blogs, and News Center all yielded zero hits regarding Windows 7 and battery life. Additionally, the sources researched do not specify if the problems are limited to a specific notebook manufacturer or model. Interestingly enough, one post on Microsoft Answers does mention a similar issue with a Sony Vaio laptop. A Microsoft Engineer who replied to the thread only indicated that the user should check with the hardware manufacturer to ensure updated drivers were available and installed, in order to take advantage of the improved battery performance provided in Windows 7. In this case, the user was not happy with the response. A separate thread in Microsoft Answers includes complaints as recent as today and stretching back to June 2009. A few affected laptops, as posted by users on this thread, include, among others, the HP Pavilion DV2000/DV9500, Dell Studio 17, Medion Akoya 97470, and Acer 8930G.
While Microsoft is certain to eventually identify the cause of the issue, the problem may not end there, for those affected. If it is simply an interface issue between the OS and hardware, a simple update may resolve the issue. If the problem leads to the battery memory being permanently affected, though, will hardware manufacturers be willing to replace something that wasn’t broken, before the installation of Windows 7? While this news is not likely to incite mass hysteria among the computing masses, it does have the potential to cause business and residential notebook owners who have not yet migrated from Windows Vista to Windows 7 to keep their wallet in their pocket, until the problem is mitigated. In the end, that could cause a drop in Microsoft’s quarterly earnings. In the end, this possibility may be the only thing that motivates the computer giant to take swift and decisive corrective action to address the problem.
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