Windows 7 doesn’t harm batteries

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 correctly reports a laptop battery’s status on the status bar, with the operating system having no correlation to encountered battery issues.

Accused by some in the media of being behind battery problems witnessed on laptop computers, Microsoft has decided to work in conjunction with their partners to investigate these problems.

According to numerous user reports, notably published on the TechNet forums, a Windows 7 notification alerts users that their computers battery requires changing. This notification surprised quite a few users, with some interpreting this message to mean that the operating system damaged the battery.

For Microsoft, Windows 7 isn’t the cause of the problem, and although the notification highlighted the issue, the problem stems from an independent issue with the battery. According to the president of Microsoft’s Windows division, Steven Sinofsky, part of the user’s incorrect interpretation of the problem is due to their surprise at seeing such an error.

The battery status notification is a new feature in Windows 7, and for Steven Sinofsky, when a user upgrades their computer from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7, they may be surprised to learn that their battery has degraded over time, something which they were previously not conscientious of. The messenger, in this case Windows 7, is therefore being blamed while it is only reporting the information provided by the firmware (with it being impossible to change this information).

Microsoft, who has also been blamed for drivers and BIOS issues in Windows 7 PC’s, has no confirmed cases of this kind in new computers. In the event that the notification appears with a new battery, Microsoft recommends contacting the manufacturer.

Microsoft has therefore judged the incident closed, with no corrective patch to be forthcoming, although they will nevertheless continue to monitor the situation.