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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that…
A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that will not charge. The battery is removable, and the power adapter works on another laptop. When the battery is inserted, the laptop powers on but shows '0% available (plugged in, not charging)'. What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The battery is defective and needs replacement.
The 'plugged in, not charging' message often indicates a failed battery that cannot accept a charge, even though the system detects it. A defective battery cell will prevent charging. The power adapter and charging circuit are likely fine since the laptop powers on.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The battery is defective and needs replacement.
Why this is correct
A laptop battery that is detected by the system but consistently fails to accept a charge, despite the charger being connected and functional, is a strong indicator of internal cell degradation or a faulty battery management circuit. Over time, lithium-ion batteries lose their capacity and ability to hold a charge, eventually failing to initiate the charging process altogether. Replacing the defective battery with a new, compatible unit is the direct solution to restore the laptop's portable power functionality.
- ✗
The charging port is loose.
Why it's wrong here
A loose or damaged charging port (DC jack) typically manifests as intermittent power delivery to the laptop, requiring the power cord to be wiggled to establish a connection, or a complete absence of power. If the system is receiving power and detecting the battery, but the battery itself is not charging, the issue is less likely to be the physical port connection. A loose port would usually prevent the system from even recognizing the charger's presence consistently.
- ✗
The power management driver is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
While power management drivers (e.g., ACPI drivers) are crucial for the operating system to interface with and control battery charging, an outdated driver is less likely to cause a complete and persistent 'not charging' status when the battery is detected. Driver issues often lead to incorrect battery percentage readings, slow charging, or erratic power behavior, rather than a total failure to charge. A hardware fault with the battery itself is a more common cause for such a definitive charging failure.
- ✗
The CMOS battery is dead.
Why it's wrong here
The CMOS battery, a small coin-cell battery on the motherboard, is solely responsible for maintaining the system's real-time clock (RTC) and BIOS/UEFI settings when the main power is disconnected. A dead CMOS battery will cause the system clock to reset and BIOS settings to revert to defaults every time the laptop loses power. It has no functional connection to the main laptop battery's charging circuit or its ability to accept or hold a charge.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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