>>>As I've previously noted on UT, based on my experience, the Dell laptop battery utility may be corruptible Easy to find cases where it no longer recognizes the Dell AC adapter that came with the machine. So it's certainly possible that it could simply be coming up with bad readings (and acting accordingly) when it should not. I suggest you Google the Dell symptoms and see what others are reporting. I never could solve my battery-util problems once they started -- and, as a result, I will not get another Dell laptop.
>>
>>Mark,
>>
>>Thanks, I'm afraid it may be the case. Right now it's working OK, but it does sound very discouraging :(
>
>Naomi, what is especially discouraging is that these problems have been documented by users for
>several years without Dell fixing them. That's why I will no longer buy a Dell.
>
>-m.

I'm guessing none of these utilities and steps worked for you:

http://ftp.dell.com/diags/R66243.htm

Snippet:

(Recalibration Utility)

This utility runs the battery all the way down and then recharges it completely. The process takes several hours so it is best to run it overnight. Use only the recalibration program specified for your system. Using any other program could void your warranty!

Latitude LM, Inspiron 3000 and Inspiron 3200 systems use this recalibration program:
BATRECAL.EXE

Inspiron 5000, Inspiron 7000, and Inspiron 7500 systems use this program:
I75BRCA0.EXE

Latitude LS, Latitude L400, Latitude X200, and Inspiron 2100 systems enable a recalibration option on the Power page of the BIOS Setup Program :
How to Enable Battery Recalibration...