Battery Issues

Hey Guru Techies,

I have a issue that really I only need a temporary fix for as I only need the computer for 50 more minutes! The computer is an Acer Aspire One netbook, model number AOA 150. I am running Windows XP on it.

Anyways, the problem is that my computer won't recognize my battery as charged. I have left it plugged in for a long time, while off, after running the battery down. The green light came on to indicate that it was fully charged but when I went to turn it on, it flashed red at me indicating the battery was dead. If I charge the battery with the computer on, and then unplug the computer, the battery lasts for about 40 minutes, though it goes straight to critical battery power. Also when the computer is on and "charging" the battery, the charging Icon does not go about 1% charged, but it says the battery is charging.

Now there are plenty of other users out there who have had the same problem with the same netbook. Acer said it was a BIOS coding problem and that I needed to update my BIOS to version. So I followed the steps located here. The computer booted up, signaling that the update was successful, but the computer still won't see the battery as charged.

I also have tried unplugging the computer and taking out the battery and holding down the power button for 1-2 minutes in order to discharge the motherboard (was another suggestion on another site). That also did not work. I have tried turning it on without the battery in and then putting the battery in a few minutes, but still no dice.

I have searched Google and none of the suggestions have worked for me so far. I am really pretty befuddled by this whole thing. If anyone has any idea how to fix it (outside of getting a new battery which I will not do) I would much appreciate them. I have had this Acer for over a year now (it is a refurb, so I am unsure of how old it really is) and I just recently started having battery issues. It used to last 2-3 hours no problem, then I was lucky to get 50 minutes out of it. Now, it won't even recognize the battery as charged if turned off. So any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need anymore details let me know and I will try to get those posted ASAP.

Thanks,
~Pwnd

(PS, sorry for the long post, if TL;DR, I bolded the "important" stuff)