I realize this is a pretty broad question, but if a laptop battery will not hold a charge, what most likely is the problem, bad battery or poor connectors keeping it from charging properly or a dead short? Thanks

A knackerd battery. They don't last forever. Stuart

I don't mean do sound caustic, but this is like asking, "my car won't run, what's wrong?" The charging system in the laptop could have a problem. It could indeed be a "contacts" problem--these are usually soldered, somewhere, to a PC board, and flexing from normal as well as abnormal use can "crack" the solder connections. I don't know about all the different brands, but in the Thinkpads (IBM) the battery ITSELF contains some complicated circuitry, that is prone to failure, and of course, it could be one or more bad cells in the pack. If you have ANY mechanical/electrical knowhow, sometimes you can use hobby saws, razor knives, etc, to cut into the case, and use a multimeter to check the individual cells, and in SOME cases, you can buy new replacement cells and solder them in. The problem, of course, is that it COULD be something in the laptop--which means if you spend a lot of money on a new or "refurb" battery, it still might not work.