Thinkpads Forum

Im new to laptops so please excuse again if the this question is for noobs!

I use my T60 as a desktop replacement pretty much, it stays in the same spot plugged into the wall and I don't move it around. Or if I do move it, it stays in the house and I bring the wall adapter with me.

Ive noticed from the little green lights that the battery power is always on, I see that, the "volt" and the power plug light.

Can I just remove the battery if I don't plan to use it ever? Would this save wear and tear vs the battery being in the laptop all the time when its plugged in? Battery is at 100% 54cycles currently, its a used battery.

Many thanks!

Best storage for Li-Ion batteries is at 40% of full charge at 40 degrees F, i.e., in the refrigerator. Next best is if you change the Power Manager's charging parameters to start charging when the battery is below, e.g., 60%, and stop charging at, e.g., 96%. The worst is to start charging at 96% and keep it "topped up" at 100% -- which, dismayingly, is the default! Further, the heat of the machine degrades the battery. No matter what you do, Li-Ion batteries are "perishable" products, and the only control you have is to slow down the "decay". With this information, you can determine the most convenient solution for your needs.

+1 to EOMtp

Running your ThinkPad off AC power with no battery attached does no harm to the ThinkPad.

Some people argue that leaving the battery in the ThinkPad provides an automatic UPS. That may be true, however a UPS costs less than a replacement ThinkPad battery and has the ability to provide backup power not only to a ThinkPad but also to other critical devices like docking stations, external hard disks, DSL/cable modems, etc.

Thank you EOMtp and Hausman for the great info provided as always!

I will start by changing the power management setting, then maybe even remove it completely.

Note that, if you disconnect your Thinkpad from AC while it's off, it will discharge the battery. It seems that disconnecting the battery and plugging it back will at least shut off the indicators.

hausman wrote:Some people argue that leaving the battery in the ThinkPad provides an automatic UPS. That may be true, however a UPS costs less than a replacement ThinkPad battery and has the ability to provide backup power not only to a ThinkPad but also to other critical devices like docking stations, external hard disks, DSL/cable modems, etc.

I'm one of those people who values their data and the convenience of being able to pick up the notebook and walk elsewhere with no fuss more than I value a battery.

I try to be good about how I affect the batt, but at the end of the day... I'm with JaneL

I always have my battery removed from my T61 whenever I have a stable AC power source or I intended to work at a spot for 1hr+.

If the battery is removed there is a big gap where it used to be --- can you buy a hatch cover for it?

istudio wrote:I always have my battery removed from my T61 whenever I have a stable AC power source or I intended to work at a spot for 1hr+.

I'll try that out. Didn't know you could run it that way. Thank

You should also check whether your CPU is capable of running at full speed (in Windows) with no battery inserted. Older units could not do that, I haven't tested anything T6x or newer on that issue.

Oh, it's a x61 tablet (7764-CTO) if it helps.

Aloha! Yes, when not mobile w/ no AC, i always run without battery plugged directly into APC SmartUPS. I also use the battery and a LineR 1200 when i know i have AC where i will be. Keep in mind that with only a VR (Voltage Regulator/Line Conditioner) and no battery, if you are doing any serious work and are accessing hdd during a pwr out, you chance not only corrupted data, but toasting the hdd (although with a good VR that isn't likely). While the laptop battery in place will prevent that, it will not condition the line the way VR does. So when i'm at another location where UPS isn't available, i use both. I learned the hard way about this.

I have found the opinions and information on this topic wide and varied. Lots of discussion on it. My own experience makes me agree with EOMtp. The more i research Li-Ion the more i know it's not "all that". The technology needs to improve on these because @ +or- $100 a battery, it can get expensive.

I rather use the battery pack inserted all the time, Power Manager set to stop charging the battery at 50% and start charging it at 30%.
I have had situations where a power loss make the HDD suffer and you could get data corruption, it's difficult to recover a HDD from a power failure, sometimes Windows won't recognize it and you would have to do a full Chkdsk repair.

agarza wrote:I have had situations where a power loss make the HDD suffer and you could get data corruption, it's difficult to recover a HDD from a power failure, sometimes Windows won't recognize it and you would have to do a full Chkdsk repair.

Agreed! Emphasizes the importance of Imaging the drive(s)/partitions and backing up boot record (mbr). If data corruption is all you end up with - getting back to speed isn't too bad. Worse is a hdd being rendered useless.

I'm still waiting for someone to show me if and where older versions of the Pwr Mgr app are available. I would like to try earlier versions in response to people mentioning the new versions are slower / more bloat etc. Can someone confirm so i can try it? It definitely relates to this discussion.

Thanks