This sounds like a dumb question i know but i just got a refurbished dell laptop and it has been plugged in for some time but i can't use it without it being plugged in. i took apart the back and found the battery, but before i buy a new one i want to make sure that this one is really bad. do i do anything like hit a button to get it to charge?
https://discussions.virtualdr.com/im.../2012/05/3.png
You don't need to anything apart from plugging it in. It does sound like you got a bad one there :(
To help make those batteries last longer. .
http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter...attery_max.htm
The best thing HP ever done, that article is.
5 years the battery lasted on my old Toshiba using that information.