Owners of Windows 7 notebooks are encountering an unusual problem with incorrect warnings that their batteries are dying, Microsoft said today. The OS is telling some users that the battery isn't holding a charge and needs to be replaced even though the PC is often just months old and its battery is known to work. Microsoft suspects the system BIOS is sending updates that are falsely interpreted as failures in Windows.

The company hasn't given CNET a timetable for releasing a fix but says it has has been working with notebook makers to identify the cause. In spite of the errors, owners are told they should contact the PC builder if the error occurs in case the error is the symptom of a real problem.