HP forum: Battery not detected by the HP calibration tool

I intend to buy a new laptop relatively soon. This did have quite a few problems, most of which luckily happened under warranty. I wouldn't want to buy a new battery for this laptop because it is approaching the end of its life, but I was surprised the battery is not recognized when it is still working (it doesn't last long, but it never did!). The HP tool says it is "invalid"...

If this is the original battery,. then it's way past the expected life span. What seems to confuse most is that to figure this out, we need a good battery.
Bob

... what you mean, but I didn't use it much (yes, it is the original battery), only a few times, probably under 30 hours altogether. I don't know if it is really relevant, but I thought it would prolong its life if I keep it out when I don't need it.

While non-use could extend it by some percent there are metals and acids inside that degrade with time. About all one could do is well discussed so I'll be short here. Charge the battery, remove it from the laptop to place in some air tight container with desiccant then place it in the refrigerator to slow the process down.

Does not seem too useful.
Bob

Thanks for the advice. I will do it if further problems occur.
I have found out what the problem was.... Basically this morning I went to the HP website and checked for drivers and software update (after their software failed to recognize my battery) and it told me everything was up-to-date with their automatic detection tool (that obviously doesn't detect much, although it made me install a plugin in Firefox). I now manually searched for the HP software to check the battery and there is indeed an update. I installed it and it detected the battery. It even said it is OK.

Why did it work before?

... just the software that is supposed to determine the health status of the battery that didn't work, not the battery itself (although I have to say I don't use the laptop with the battery so much).