MacBook and MacBook Pro: Battery not recognized after being fully drained
Summary
If your MacBook or MacBook Pro's battery is fully drained of power, the battery will put itself into a low power state to preserve its ability to charge in future. Fully draining the battery might be done by running the battery until the computer sleeps and then leaving the battery in the sleeping computer for an extended period without plugging it in.
Products Affected
MacBook, MacBook Pro
If you have fully drained the battery, once you plug in the MacBook or MacBook Pro's power cord and start the computer up, you may see a red X over the battery icon in the menu bar. If you see this, please allow the battery up to five minutes to come out of its low power mode and begin accepting a charge again. If your battery still is not recognized by the computer (still has an X over the icon) after five minutes, you may want to re-seat the battery. If the battery still isn't recognized after re-seating, try resetting the SMC. If the battery is not recognized after those steps please contact AppleCare for further assistance.
Additional Information
See also: Wait for your Apple notebook to fully shut down before you close the display.