QOTW: Has Windows 7 Affected Your Battery Life?
Today we're learned that Microsoft was investigating an issue concerning the battery life of notebooks running Windows 7.
Windows 7 users have been complaining about battery problems on Microsoft's official forums since June of last year, months before Redmond pushed out the full, public release Windows 7. Some complain that their battery life has dropped significantly, while others say the OS is suggesting they go as far as to replace their battery with a brand new one.
One user named tigger1962 says,
"Until yesterday it used [to] state that I had 7 hours battery life after a full charge; today after a full charge, it states that I have 4 hours left. I've only had it on now 15 minutes and my charge has now gone down to 2 hours 24 minutes."
Reverting to Windows XP or Vista doesn't work and neither does charging the laptop while it is off or booting to another OS to charge.
Has installing Windows 7 had a negative effect on your battery? Let us know in the comments below!

Yes windows 7 has lowered my battery life by roughly 10% on an Compaq 2510P when coming from XP. I am sure if I put XP back on, that I could get that 10% back, but since I get 7 hours of life its more than enough still.
It came with vista, and I got a copy of win7 to replace that. I can still get 2-4hrs of use and the battery life gauge frequently reads 6-7hrs.
Interesting that the 2 posters above me both have Acer laptops.
Obviously I'm being sarcastic. I'm not thinking the OS itself can have some sort of physical and permanent affect on a laptop battery's ability to hold and keep a charge. That just doesn't make any sense.
Win 7 is recommending battery replacement on another older notebook i have, but I can't say that's a problem as it won't run 5 minutes anyway on a charge, that battery's long since passed it's usable life... i use it exclusively while plugged in. i only keep the battery in it as it gives me a cushion on usabiltiy if I have to change seats in the living room (and thus outlets) or if our 2yrold gets a hold of it...
(except when I forget to charge it after using it all day on battery)
Actually the OS can permanently damage the battery. The problem starts with the hardware and the charging circuit used in the laptop. Lithium batteries are very sensitive and quickly can be damaged if not charged properly. If the charging logic is moved into the driver there is small chance that due to software bug could overcharge the battery and destroy it. For example the OS sends command for quick charge, but battery heats up the driver should detect that and reduce the current. If the battery gets hot its life is reduced significantly. That is why many people recommend to charge your battery only to 60% of its capacity in order to protect the battery. And if you working plugged-in most of the time the best thing to do is to remove the battery. It is much cheaper to get $40 UPS then using notebooks battery as UPS.
I am sure MS will figure it quickly.
Was shipped to me with Vista, and they gave me a free upgrade to Win7 (full install disc).
My battery life has gone down since the switch. I know my laptop (I use it every day), and was very used to what I could/could not get out of it in terms of battery life throughout a day.
Vista - I could squeeze just over 7 hours out of the battery (mid-screen brightness, wi-fi enabled.)
Win7 - Same configuration as Vista, it gets about 45 minutes less.
The change in battery occurred immediately after installing Win7. Yes my bios is up to date.
I