T40 with aftermarket battery does not resume properly

[rhombus]

I have a T40 (2373-72U), now running Gentoo Linux, with which I used to use a factory battery.

I replaced it with an aftermarket 9-cell battery from a reputable supplier in Germany. I have put the battery through a couple of charge discharge cycles to calibrate it.

There is one problem, however: it will not resume properly after suspend if resuming from battery, even if the charge reported is 100%.

Here is what happens:

1. I suspend the laptop by closing the lid. The T40 hums, then beeps, and the crescent moon light is illuminated,
2. I wait a while (1-20 minutes)
3. I open the laptop. The laptop shuts off immediately (that is, all the lights go blank and the screen is likewise blank). Pressing the power button does nothing.
4. I wait up to 60 seconds.
5. I press the power button again -- now the laptop boots. The system has to do a filesystem recovery due to the unclean shutdown.
6. When the system is finished booting, the battery charge applet tells me the charge is roughly what it was at when the system was suspended. In all my tests, this has been around 95%
7. I can continue to use the laptop for as long as the battery has charge. I have yet to run it long enough to discharge it completely. In other words, the battery itself works fine.

I had some strange behaviour when I first started using the battery which I thought were because it needed to be calibrated; for example, it would shut off during boot, but not if I went into the BIOS or ran PC Doctor for DOS. I did a couple of complete charge-discharge cycles, and those issues went away. But if it can't resume after suspend on battery, it's kind of useless for travel.

What's wrong here? Is this a BIOS setting issue? Do I still need to calibrate it further? Has anyone else observed this kind of behaviour? It doesn't seem to fit any of the more common suspend-resume issues people have with these laptops.

Oh -- by the way -- it doesn't do this with the factory battery, nor does it do it with AC power with no battery attached.

[alofano]

I have a T40 (2373-72U), now running Gentoo Linux, with which I used to use a factory battery.

I replaced it with an aftermarket 9-cell battery from a reputable supplier in Germany. I have put the battery through a couple of charge discharge cycles to calibrate it.

There is one problem, however: it will not resume properly after suspend if resuming from battery, even if the charge reported is 100%.

Here is what happens:

1. I suspend the laptop by closing the lid. The T40 hums, then beeps, and the crescent moon light is illuminated,
2. I wait a while (1-20 minutes)
3. I open the laptop. The laptop shuts off immediately (that is, all the lights go blank and the screen is likewise blank). Pressing the power button does nothing.
4. I wait up to 60 seconds.
5. I press the power button again -- now the laptop boots. The system has to do a filesystem recovery due to the unclean shutdown.
6. When the system is finished booting, the battery charge applet tells me the charge is roughly what it was at when the system was suspended. In all my tests, this has been around 95%
7. I can continue to use the laptop for as long as the battery has charge. I have yet to run it long enough to discharge it completely. In other words, the battery itself works fine.

I had some strange behaviour when I first started using the battery which I thought were because it needed to be calibrated; for example, it would shut off during boot, but not if I went into the BIOS or ran PC Doctor for DOS. I did a couple of complete charge-discharge cycles, and those issues went away. But if it can't resume after suspend on battery, it's kind of useless for travel.

What's wrong here? Is this a BIOS setting issue? Do I still need to calibrate it further? Has anyone else observed this kind of behaviour? It doesn't seem to fit any of the more common suspend-resume issues people have with these laptops.

Oh -- by the way -- it doesn't do this with the factory battery, nor does it do it with AC power with no battery attached.

That is why I try very hard to stick to the real McCoy.

[rhombus]

That is why I try very hard to stick to the real McCoy.

I only bought this because I couldn't find new product. They can't be ordered through the parts website. I called Lenovo Parts and was told the batteries are not being made anymore, that my best hope was NOS product from the outlet store, the original SKUs have been discontinued.

I'm not really keen on buying batteries that have been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long. Is there some source of new product I don't know about? I'm all ears.

[RealBlackStuff]

Most knock-offs (like yours) have dodgy electronics at best. There are a few 'good' knock-offs but these are rare and hard to find.
Many batteries have gone through my hands over the years, and I have yet to calibrate my first battery...

That said, there is a battery manufacturer Accessory Power with these claims:
# Chemistry: Lithium Ion Rechargeable - No Memory Effect ; Utilizes BSP Technology for Surge & Overload Protection, Thermal-Cut-Off; Guards Against Short Circuits
# Free Extended 3 Year Manufacturer's Warranty ; European Quality with Silicon Valley Technology; Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed
They are sold in several places in USA, don't know if they also sell in Europe.

[rhombus]

Most knock-offs (like yours) have dodgy electronics at best. There are a few 'good' knock-offs but these are rare and hard to find.
Many batteries have gone through my hands over the years, and I have yet to calibrate my first battery...

That said, there is a battery manufacturer Accessory Power with these claims:
# Chemistry: Lithium Ion Rechargeable - No Memory Effect ; Utilizes BSP Technology for Surge & Overload Protection, Thermal-Cut-Off; Guards Against Short Circuits
# Free Extended 3 Year Manufacturer's Warranty ; European Quality with Silicon Valley Technology; Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed
They are sold in several places in USA, don't know if they also sell in Europe.

It turns out the battery is defective. I've shipped it back to the vendor at his request. He has assured me that this is not normal, and that he'll send me a replacement. I suppose we'll see.

If the second one he ships me does this, I'm going to demand a complete refund.

One definitely gets the impression that the EEPROM hasn't even been programmed on this thing. The vendor says the manufacturer sends the batteries with the electronics "erased" (his word), which doesn't give me much confidence.