Acer will not charge but works while plugged in

If it's an old laptop or one that gets heavy use with it often plugged in, this simply means your battery is knackered. Most people don't really know how to look after a laptop and just have it plugged into the mains all the time. This quickly knackers up your battery as the best way to maintain it would be to charge it and run it right down to 3-4% and then charge again - hardly ever having it plugged into the mains.

If your laptop is under a year old, and does not get plugged into the mains during most uses then I would suggest getting a new battery on warranty but be prepared to hear the same as what I've told you.

fault with the battery +1

working means unit and power supply are *functional*, 99% chance its the battery

Have you tried running it empty then recharging.

As above^ if you use your laptop plugged in all the time remove the battery, only prob is if you have a power cut the battery won't kick in an back you up.

I also thought that modern day laptops had some sort of overcharging protection where as when it reaches its maximum charge it stops charging. Thing is if you just use a little bit of charge and then charge it again you are continuously using the same cells and therefore battery life span can wither.

to properly maintain a laptop battery, you must fully charge and discharge it every 2 weeks at least.

^^^ this.

It often seems those who actually use laptops, have no idea how to maintain or look after them. I get so many to fix-up (pc techy) and they always have a knackered battery and a screen/keyboard as filthy as my uncle's browsing history.

Unfortunately once the battery is dead, the only way to use your laptop on battery power is to buy a new one and LOOK AFTER IT.

(buy a new battery that is)