Why did my laptop not work yesterday, but works today? Details included

[amodoko]

Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron 8600. It is an old laptop but has worked well for me over the years. Anyways, I went on vacation for a week so I unplugged my laptop and put it on my carpeted floor while I was gone. I came back, and assumed the battery would be low or dead and plugged it in, and it would not boot up... the only thing is the little lights on the keyboard would light up but then go off. Once in a while I would get a flash on the screen, but for the most part it would just shut off almost immediately... and no noise would come from it either. I then took out my battery, and tried starting it with only the electrical cord and power supply, and it still wouldn't boot. So I then put the battery back in, charge the laptop over night, and then tried it in the morning and it works fine now. My battery has been bad for years, and only lasts about 20 minutes, but I thought it should boot up even if there is no battery power. Can someone explain to me what they think happened? The only thing I can think of is my laptop needs a bit of battery power for booting up, but doesn't need it once started? I don't know, help me understand please

 

[Mishkin]

I'm no expert, but I believe that is what happened. I know if I were to let my netbook battery drain all the way down, it could very well be a pain to get it charging again, and would likely have to leave it charging overnight. But then once back in the "black" so to speak, it would continue to charge normally. It may have an adverse effect on the long-term health of the battery, it may not.

So yeah, you pretty much answered your own question. Your laptop is years old, you let the battery drain all the way down, and that's all she wrote. I would also assume some sort of power was needed from your battery and couldn't be supplied.