Thinkpads Forum

I have a T61p to use at home, but I am out of the country twice a year for about 2.5 months each time.

I normally run the computer on electric power w/9-volt battery installed.

What's the best way to store the T61p when I'm away? Just leave laptop unplugged with batter out and both stored in a cool, dry place?

Yes, although at the end of a long day, batteries are just a blob of active chemistry, and decrease in capacity whether you use them or not. Your suggestion helps a wee bit. ... JDH

i probably wouldn't leave the system without the battery plugged in. It would drain the internal backup battery and cause you problems in replacing it. I would just store the system at 60% with battery plugged in and that should be that.

You're not taking with you? Really? Oh man... i'd go crazy without my baby . I go on a weekend trip and i take mine much less 2 months. LOL

Yeah. 50-70% charge. stick it in the fridge wrapped in cloths and sealed in a freezer bag (the battery).

If you power off, the rest of the laptop will be fine.

The CMOS battery is suppose to last for years.

The best way would be to take the battery off you laptop and store them both in a cool and dry place.. A good idea would also be to unplug your AC adapter.. better safe than sorry..

Also, the very best way to store you battery for a longer period of time is on 50%

SHoTTa35 wrote:You're not taking with you? Really? Oh man... i'd go crazy without my baby . I go on a weekend trip and i take mine much less 2 months. LOL

I have a computer at the other end and a USB storage key for synching files.

I'm just tired of carrying the extra weight on overseas flights (plus 2 train connections at the European end).

LordCyber wrote:The best way would be to take the battery off you laptop and store them both in a cool and dry place.. A good idea would also be to unplug your AC adapter.. better safe than sorry..

That's what I had in mind.

LordCyber wrote:Also, the very best way to store you battery for a longer period of time is on 50%

Really? I've always left my spare HP battery fully charged. But, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm no techie.

One stupid question: Is it really possible (or advisable) to run a laptop with the battery out and the laptop just plugged into the AC adapter?

yeah, it's good to store the battery at a lower charge.

You can use your laptop without the battery but if the power goes out or the AC adapter comes loose then BAM there goes all of your work. That's the main reason i keep my battery in but i use the Power manager software to stop the battery from charging too much.

SHoTTa35 wrote:yeah, it's good to store the battery at a lower charge.

You can use your laptop without the battery but if the power goes out or the AC adapter comes loose then BAM there goes all of your work.

I have a backup UPS, but your point is well taken. I was really thinking about what to do if I come home and find there's a prob with the battery.

SHoTTa35 wrote:That's the main reason i keep my battery in but i use the Power manager software to stop the battery from charging too much.

Can you tell me how you do that?

i was gonna mention the UPS thing but then thought the AC adapter coming out still kills it so yeah

Anyways, you should have "Power Manager" installed but if not then get it and install it. Click Battery Information then go to Battery Maintainance button. Set the percentages of 65 - 90% or something else to your liking. This will tell the system not to chrage the battery until it's 65% or lower (some people set it even lower) and STOP when you reach 90%.

SHoTTa35 wrote:i was gonna mention the UPS thing but then thought the AC adapter coming out still kills it so yeah

Anyways, you should have "Power Manager" installed but if not then get it and install it. Click Battery Information then go to Battery Maintainance button. Set the percentages of 65 - 90% or something else to your liking. This will tell the system not to chrage the battery until it's 65% or lower (some people set it even lower) and STOP when you reach 90%.

Let me see if I understand. You set the charge start % low so that it won't charge too often, right? Because each battery can take only X number of recharges?

But why set the max charge at less than 100%?

And I did find the Battery manager already installed.

having the battery charged to fully all the time is bad for the cells.

http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

have a read plus all the other stuff there

SHoTTa35 wrote:having the battery charged to fully all the time is bad for the cells.

http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

have a read plus all the other stuff there

Thanks for the link.