Thinkpads Forum

Probably not T-specific, but since it afflicts a T-60 (6371-74U) I bought about six months ago...

The machine spends most of its time plugged in. Battery life is pretty low, apparently as a result. The "plugged-in" and "charging" leds are on, so I assume the power supply is working.

Unfortunately, the battery level reads 5% and refuses to come up. The low-power warning has been on constantly, whenever I've turned the machine on, since at least yesterday. I believe it enough to have shut down the machine and taken it out of service. I miss it!

I take all this to mean that it's time to send the machine in for repair, but it seemed worth checking here before losing it for however long that will take. Any ideas or suggestions?

Also, can anyone explain why the Lenovo I bought from Newegg has a "Best Buy" sticker on the bottom? I just noticed it. (This is a home office, and there is no one around to put it on as a prank.)

Many thanks.

PBreen

As you have found out, batteries that are always being charged usually die a premature death. There are few things users can do to prevent the premature death. Some people remove the battery, while others set the charge threshold to a lower level.

For your current battery, you can perform a battery reset and see if it brings your battery back to life. To initiate the reset, open Power Manager, switch to Battery tab, click on Battery Maintenance button and click on Perform Reset.

The battery is fried. If it is less than 12 mo. old, Lenovo will replace it. Otherwise, buy a new one. The computer is probably fine.

Thanks, guys. No doubt I should have known enough to prevent this. Somehow, pulling the battery out never occurred to me. (Probably an RTFM?) I'll get in touch with Lenovo.

PBreen

Not really - I had one fail in a similar way. These batteries are very high-strung - they sometimes just develop short circuits due to manufacturing defects or normal wear. It is probably no more your fault than when a light bulb burns out prematurely,