T40 model 2379-D6U, battery life low???

[thelittleprincess]

I got my T40 back in August 2003...the battery use to hold about 3 hour of life - but now I can only get under 1 hour. The battery is a 6 cell Li-Ion model 08K8193.

How did this happen? Some say not to keep your battery in the laptop when using the AC adapter....but the IT guys at my school say they use IBM laptops and keep their battery adn AC adaters on 24/7 and after 3 years, the battery still holds about 3-4 hours of life.

I've read here and on Anandtech.com that I should check the cycle of my battery and discharge to low % then recharge but others say to do frequent recharges. I'm so confused. How do I find out the # of cycles? I try to do the left click but can only find info through the "Power Meter" which gives the "Detailed Information on Battery" as follows:

Battery Status
Battery Name: IBM-08K8193
Unique ID" 707SANYOIBM-08K8193
Chemistry: LION
Power State: On Line, Charging
Manufacturer: SANYO

It has a "Refresh" button but I have no clue what that does.

Right clicking on the icon gives me a "What's this" pop-up which goes on to say "Displays the charging status of your battery. Click the icon to see detailed information."

I'm worried as to why my battery can only gove me about 50 minutes worth of life. I am getting the 9 cell Li-Ion battery in a few weeks and would like to know how to extend the life of that battery - I don't want to run into the same problem as with the current 6 cell battery I have.

THANKS!!