i have 2 lights in front of my 5 1/2 year old gateway laptop. one is for on/off the other is for battery/ac power. about a year ago i realized i couldnt use my batt anymore because it didnt hold its power so i leave it plugged in at all times while i use my computer. i was away for 2 weeks and when i got home i turned on my computer, downloaded the ipod driver for windows 98 (which i am hoping didnt mess something up) and now the battery light is off. it says my battery is at 0% and charging. how can it be off and still operational? if i unplug my computer it shuts off immediately. is there a phase past not holding power with batteries that i am unaware of? i know batteries die, but how is hte computer still on then? jeese.

LED's (Light Emitting Diode) do die after a while. (5-1/2 years?) It could be as simple as the LED not lighting. Swap it out with another known good LED. If the problem persists, then the LED isn't the problem, it's in the circuitry.

Your post isn't really clear on;

"and now the battery light is off."
Is this when the system is on and operational?
Is it "normally" ON during system operation?
Is it "normally" OFF during system operation?
Is it "normally" ON when the system is "OFF"?
Is it "normally" OFF when the system is "OFF"?

"it says my battery is at 0% and charging."
"it" = what?
DOS level error message on the screen? (Pre windows loading)
GUI (Windows) error message?

"how can it be off and still operational?"
What is off?
The battery indicator LED?

"if i unplug my computer it shuts off immediately."
OK, no mystery there. (Considering a potentially, totally dead battery.)

"i know batteries die, but how is hte computer still on then?"
When plugged into a wall AC outlet, power is provided.