Old laptops and dead batteries

[Unknown_K]

A while back I purchased a battery for a 390 machine that was supposed to be good but I think was shorted taking out the charger board on my 390e (since replaced). The battery made a buzzing noise when you tried to turn the laptop on.

If you look at my sig you will notice I collect many old Thinkpads, and I like to have the battery compartment filled with a battery (working preferable but dead will do). Recently I got some dead 600 batteries for a couple 600 units I am working on. When plugged in the machines have the flashing orange light and neither battery will take a charge (shows 0% and charging in Windows, never goes up). I have read posts here where somebody said that a dead battery can cause damage if you leave it in while running the machine from the power brick (this was a Thinkpad 600 post). Is there much of a chance to damage the computer with a dead battery that isn't shorted? How can you tell if the battery is shorted outside of plugging it in and listening for noise? What do fellow collectors here do about old machines and filling the battery slots?

[Harryc]

Dremmel out the connectors on the battery and seal the exposed metal (if any) with liquid electrical tape.