Mac Book Pro: Cycle count MBP MC118LL/A (2009) 168 vs 1000?

[TuckerdogAVL]

We've since replaced this laptop, mainly because years ago it wouldn't hold a charge in the battery. Or, so I assumed. I'm using it to play with and test right now ... I don't think there's anything left on it that I need, but I'm still checking. And I had to put the OS on via Time Machine because it was doing that thing where it would make it 90% on a boot, then go black. All that is resolved.

However....

According to Apple, as far as I can tell, on their site for "Cycle count," by putting in my serial number and my model numbers, I get a "Cycle count" saying 1000. On the computer, under "About" I see 168. Ah.... and SERVICE BATTERY.

Now, we almost always used this thing connected to the power. Rarely as a laptop. Yes, I know now that wasn't a good thing.
But, would going thru the various methods of resetting the battery do anything regarding helping this cycle count? I'm not going to try to find a battery for it (and it's not servicable would have to be sent to a techie)... but curious as to why I got the service battery with only 168 as the cycle count? Is it because we didn't use it enough on battery?

BTW, here's another curious thing. According to my "Model identifier" It is a MacBookPro5,4 .... on Apple's site to identify the computer, there are 5,1 5,2 5,3 no 5,4. Typical for me.

I put in the serial number in "EVERYMAC" and I got this: (see attached) I don't believe it's an SD but the "other one" where the link isn't live (again, typical for me).
And, I planned on wiping the entire thing and doing a clean install to practice. As I say, I don't think there's anything on it...
I'd check to see if it was an SD, but because I just clicked on Power or something under About, it's just spinnnnnnnnnning.

 

[DeltaMac]

My take on the (SD) designation is that model includes the SD card slot. 17-inch MBPro for 2009 continued with the older "Express card" slot.
That's all, just the first year for the SD card slot.
Your 2009 15-inch came with the 2.53 Ghz processor, and the MacBookPro5,4 designation was for only that 2.53 Ghz model. There were no optional processors for that model.

Battery - you would likely see what makes that a "service battery" issue if you look at the Full Capacity available, also in the System Information, Power tab. That's what drops off as the battery ages. I expect if that number is below 5600, and it likely will be for an original battery, that takes it below the "80% health", going below that level probably would trigger the "Service Now".(New battery level for your model is probably around 7200 MaH) And, it's mostly age, not really related to charge cycles when the battery has been around for a few years.

For comparison, your 2.53GHz model (MacBookPro5,4) is most related to the MacBookPro5,3. The only distinctive difference is the processor, and graphics card in the 5,3 had an optional upgrade as well. Your 5,4 had no such options, (other than RAM and storage) and was somewhat cheaper than the 5,3. I think Apple considered it a "budget" model...