T43 + Brand new 9 Cell Battery = Only 4.5 hours worktime(?)

[dsgtdk]

Dear ThinkPadders,


As a test, we tried a brand new 9 cell battery in a T43 (2668-44G).
We did the regular "break-in" process of the battery, by fully charging and then draining, three times.

Then we took the ThinkVantage Power Manager software, set it on "Maximum Battery Life" profile (important to note; BIOS settings are factory default).

CPU runs at 335MHz instead of the 1.86GHz, screen brightness is at it's lowest possible setting.
Connected to the computer are the following:

USB 2.0 Hub with it's own external power supply.
LAN Cable.

Is the 4.5 hour result normal from such a big battery?

Some reviews stated that these systems manage this time on a 6 cell battery pack.


Thank you in advance,

[dsgtdk]

Sorry for double post - but I just checked something.

The 9 cell battery that was in the unit when it was taken to the IBM lab for repair, had the following FRU number: 92P1102


The computer came back with this battery: 92P1069


The messed up part - the 92P1102 was brand new (I mean, 2-3 days tops). It has (had) the warranty from a certified IBM parts distributor. The FRU number is even on the original box matching, as well as the receipt.


When the computer was taken for service (LCD replacement, fan replacement, cracked palmrest replacement), the battery was never asked to be checked/changed.

Is this a case where I should make a furious phone call to IBM's Service Station?

[gator]

The part numbers are OK, no need to worry about that. IBM had batteries made by sony, panasonic, sanyo and each of these batteries have their own part numbers, and they can be interchanged.

As far as I know batteries are not covered under warranty, and they should not have changed that ... did you send it to IBM's deport or elsewhere? Also make sure that you have a genuine IBM battery ...

4.5 hours seems a little low with the setting you describe (min LCD+low CPU speed) but it is not too out of place ... do search for threads on how to get better battery life.

[awolfe63]

That's not too bad. These were 71WH batteries. Assuming you only use 96% before shutdown - that means 15.2W for 4.5 hours. If you had wi-fi on and were doing some computing activity, maybe using a drive once in a while, this is pretty typical for a T43 - especially a 15".

(however - it looks like yours is a 14.1" XGA)

[ajkula66]

IPS FlexView LCDs are power hungry and one of the main reasons for your less-than-stellar battery life.

I wouldn't complain, though. I'm not getting much more than that on a 14" T43p and I'd trade with you in a split second, just because of the LCD...

You might be able to get more out of your machine by using NHC and/or ThinkPad Fan Control, to minimize the energy wasted on heat dissipation, although it doesn't seem to me that your machine suffers greatly from it.

Good luck.

[dr_st]

According to what I found, the 2668-44G is a 14.1" model, so no IPS.

4.5hours on minimum brightness is a bit less than I would expect from a brand new 9-cell. Is WiFi on?

[ajkula66]

dr_st wrote:

According to what I found, the 2668-44G is a 14.1" model, so no IPS.

You're absolutely right. I must have punched one of the characters wrong when I was doing the original model look-up...

Having said that, 4.5 hours does become low of a figure for a brand new 9-cell...

[dsgtdk]

Many thanks for all who responded.

Regarding the WiFi question; it's turned off with Fn+F5.

The battery is original (not aftermarket), with a one-year warranty by a local provider (Harel).

Could it be I have something that is really power hungry enabled? Or could it be that the battery is defective?

[AdaSch]

Hi,

before lastest update from lenovo and microsoft power consumption with bt (on) and wifi (on) and connected to AP (g) -1,6A ~1,8A

after update 1,03 A ~1,1A!!!

now my 6 cell battery have 453 cycles and 43,13 Wh

and t43p (pentium m 780) can work over 3 hours (profile thinkpad default)

i don't know which one update do this but this work!



cheers

[awolfe63]

I use MOBmeter constantly. It tells you exactly how many watts you are using (under XP). Try it (google for it) and see what you can find out.

[dsgtdk]

Here is a screenshot of the current status:



(sorry for image size.)


I will try the softwares some of you suggested, hopefully we'll get some improvement.

[zborbas]

USB 2.0 Hub with it's own external power supply.
LAN Cable.

Is the 4.5 hour result normal from such a big battery?

Hi Everybody,

This is my first post and I am not entirely sure what I think is correct, but it worths a try...

Try to disconnect the USB Hub (even though has its own power supply) as there is a known USB bug affecting T43. Here you can read more about it. http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2693 (My T43 loses at least 1/2 hour straightaway as soon as I plug in the receiver of the logitech nano mouse) I hope this helps.

[Temetka]

What a neat article, thanks for posting it.

I like that they used a T60 and a T43 for comparison as well. Although I have not been monitoring battery run times on my T42 due to a really old battery, I did implement the fix as I plan on getting a new battery very soon.

Or a T43p is I can talk my boss into springing for it. In which case I'll reapply the fix to that system as well.

[AdaSch]

I use MOBmeter constantly. It tells you exactly how many watts you are using (under XP). Try it (google for it) and see what you can find out.

br

[awolfe63]

That's high. Try it right after a reboot with nothing plugged into USB and see what you get.

[davidspalding]

I remember getting roughly 4.5 hours from a new, old-stock 9-cell which showed 98% of it's original capacity in Power Manager ... with a UltraBay Slim battery, and Power Manager set to my own "quiet" profile, I took the screenshot you used to see in my signature. No joke.



There are tricks you can use to make Windows use less power ... "net stop cisvc" stops the content indexing service, which keeps your hard drive working during "idle time." Set the hard disk to stand by/sleep after 5 mins. Set the CPU to "lowest." Turn off BT if you don't need it. Unplug/eject the DVD drive if you're not using it (I keep a blanking insert there normally).

Searching the forums for battery conservation tips should turn up many threads.

[Ralf Hutter]

IUnplug/eject the DVD drive if you're not using it (I keep a blanking insert there normally).

Do you have a PN for the "blanking insert"?

[AdaSch]

That's high. Try it right after a reboot with nothing plugged into USB and see what you get.

hi,

i don't see any different w/o usb on or off.

Power consumption 1,07 A

But on same time mobmeter and power manager view different value

cheers

[davidspalding]

Try to disconnect the USB Hub (even though has its own power supply) as there is a known USB bug affecting T43. Here you can read more about it. http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2693 (My T43 loses at least 1/2 hour straightaway as soon as I plug in the receiver of the logitech nano mouse) I hope this helps.

I believe there's an October 2007 Service Pack which supersedes that article's suggested Registry addition. It's probably included with SP3.

Ah, here t'is, 918005: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918005


The p/n on one of the blanking ("travel") inserts is 62P4331. They're not hard to find if you search no Google or eBay. Some people charge $20, I wouldn't pay > $10. If you know anyone who gets an X41/60 UltraBase, I think they're included.