My dad's laptop, a Dell Inspirion E1705, has a battery that is going bad. I'm wondering where the best place to get one would be. He doesn't want to spend $texas, but he also doesn't want a piece of shit replacement as well. Thanks for teh help.

5/11/2009 6:17:42 PM

either pay for quality or don't.

pretty easy.

look for dell batteries on ebay.

5/11/2009 8:05:49 PM

eBay was a given. I figured that someone from tech talk would know of another way to get quality batteries for cheap.

5/11/2009 8:27:01 PM

laptop batteries are one of those things i never get cheap on, i always get them from the OEM, especially if the laptop is still under warranty.

the price really isn't THAT much different if you shop around, and it's worth it in my opinion instead of worrying if the cheap chinese knockoff is going to explode or not.

5/11/2009 8:59:42 PM

Yes, because we all know that buying a battery directly from Dell means that it will never explode.

5/11/2009 9:07:31 PM

but at least then they'll do something about fixing it

5/11/2009 9:11:26 PM

How was the system purchased? May still be under a 3-year warranty. Look up the Service Tag number on Dell's website to figure out. My not have to pay anything.

Agree with evan on the cheap knockoffs. Sometimes they are quality, other times you take your chances. For your dad's laptop, don't kill yourself getting THAT phone call when you could fork over another $20 (or whatever it is). No huge secrets on where to purchase, and specials really don't come around that often.

5/11/2009 10:47:29 PM

I believe that the laptop was purchased online through Dell's website. It was definitely purchased brand new. I also believe that it was purchased only two years ago. I'll check on what you said and let y'all know. Thanks for the advice.

5/11/2009 10:56:58 PM

unless it's a defect sony cell (even then the offer is expired), 1 year is max for batteries. considered a consumable.

unless you bought that 190% extended warranty.

5/12/2009 2:16:04 AM

any way to get a battery for a Thinkpad T42p without paying $75? It's going on 5 years old and really not worth more than $30 or $40 to me to replace.. just sucks keeping it plugged in

5/12/2009 3:41:51 AM

http://www.batteriesplus.com/showproducts.aspx?mdlID=294890&typ=S&sTerm=e1705&cID=48&cName=Notebook%20Laptop%20Batteries

5/12/2009 6:07:35 PM

^ I looked up a T42p battery on that page and it would be ~$125 just for a battery. Who would pay that much for a 5 year old laptop?

5/14/2009 12:03:52 AM

ebay bats for $30 haven't failed me (yet)

5/14/2009 2:04:41 AM

see if http://www.dealextreme.com has it

5/14/2009 9:10:05 PM

I bought an 'OEM' (not-OEM style) replacement battery off ebay for my old R40 thickpad after my batt life was less than 20 minutes at best. While battery life was absolutely incredible on the new one, the battery connectors are molded slightly off, and when pressure is applied on the bottom of the locked in battery they separate slightly, shutting off the laptop if the power cord isn't plugged in.

If I did it again, and knowing how long I was gonna keep using it, I'd pay the extra $40+ for the brandname and not worry if I'm getting a half-ass version that can cut off if I move it. Both batts had exact same specs and printing, just no IBM/Lenovo logo on the OEM replacement. Caveat emptor, there are probably decent OEM or cheapo ones that work decent.

5/14/2009 9:39:50 PM

I bought a $35 knockoff batt from ebay for my Compaq laptop and its been kicking for like 2 years now and still gives me like 3.5 hours of battery life.

5/15/2009 8:46:10 AM

i'm kinda sketch on the dealextreme stuff, as some of it is counterfit and they sometimes don't care. they usually do though.

i've got a bunch of old ibm laptop batteries that have never been used, but also have never been tested as they've been sitting in their packaging on a shelf.

give me model numbers on the batteries and i'll check to see if any match.

5/15/2009 11:11:10 AM

the battery on my XPS just went out, suddenly this weekend. just over a year old too

fuck buying a $200 battery. I guess this laptop will now effectively be a desktop.

6/8/2009 12:34:30 PM