Recently upgraded my compaq presario c502us laptop from Vista Basic to Windows 7 Pro. Battery goes from 99% charge to nothing within 10 minutes... must use the power cord all of the time. Most of the battery discharge forum posts I see for Windows 7 are a year or more old, nothing recent. Is there a recent fix that I'm unaware of?

If you are sure your charger is good check the Compaq site for updates for your computer. Vista had lots of problems, I would suggest updating to at least win 7 pro if it's an option.

your system bios should be upgrade first. Find bios upgrade software from your laptop vendor's website. upgrade bios first then install Win 7.

This computer came with Vista Basic. You can upgrade Vista Basic to Windows 7 Premium but it depends on your hardware. Go here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor Run the upgrade advisor and follow their advice.

THE COMPUTER DOESN'T EXACTLY CHARGE THE BATTERY. MAYBE THE ADAPTER FOR THE C502US ISN'T COMPATIBLE WITH UR COMPUTER, OR THE ADAPTER CONNECTION AT THE COMPUTER/ MOTHERBOARD IS FAULTY.

Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic 32-bit is supported on this laptop.

If you want to upgrade its at your own risk.

clear bios by replacing small battery on mainboard for 10 haurs and then power on,
if dosent worked tell me to give you anoyher solution

you may try:
1) check the battery alarm at windows power managment, to set 5-10% alarm level.
2) discharge the battery to the empty then charge longer time, you need monitoring how long it charged (see charge lights change), need to change new one if charging time much less then before(less then 10-20 minutes)..
3) plug-in AC adapter monitoring charging current,
this step you need a current meter to make a series connection in the circuite, the battery is over life cycle if the current less then 500mA.

May be there is a software codec problem. Try installing VLC Player or Klite Codec pack and then try

Laptops are usless for playing games. They may play some low quality games but there is really nothing you can do to upgrade a laptop to make it suitable for playing games. If you are planning on playing PC Games, buy a good Desktop Computer.

turn it off, pull the battery from the bottom, and try it again... chances are, the power adapter is not rated properly for the notebook, or the battery is dead and won't hold a charge anymore, in which case, recycle the battery.