X60 series Thinkpads and battery problems????

[Henry_Sculler]

Hi everyone -

A quick question regarding x60 series thinkpads. My wife brought a new x60 2 years ago. After 1.5 years, the battery died (ie stop holding its charge) and she brought a new battery.http://forum.thinkpads.com/posting.php?mode=smilies&f=3#

Today, I saw a X60 for sale $350 with a dead battery.

My question:

Is this a common problem with the x60 series?

I just gave my x31 away after years of service. And I'm still using my 2 x32 thinkpads and never had any battery problems.
Actually, I've never had any problems with my x31/x32 thinkpads.

Thanks again.

2 x32, 1 x60, 1 T42 (just brought from Brian today)

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, one of the X60s at work had a battery died.

[Maccess]

A year and a half for a laptop battery is about average (well, on the low end of average), most batteries will function for around two years before refusing to hold a charge. that said, I have some FIVE YEAR OLD Panasonic and Sanyo Cell Batteries that still hold almost two hours charge.

[tomh009]

It really depends on you usage profile -- it's the discharge cycles that will eventually do in the battery. I just swapped the original five-year-old battery on our X31, as it was down to roughly an hour -- but that's after five years!

On the other hand, on my previous X61, I switched after about 18 months as the battery life was down to under two hours with the nine-cell battery. My work usage patterns involve a lot more running on battery (and subsequent recharges), though, thus wearing the battery down much more quickly.

[archer6]

My question:

Is this a common problem with the x60 series?

Absolutely not. I purchased an X60 & a X60s within a few days of their release over three years ago and they are all just fine. I also purchased more that 40 of them for my company at that same time and those are all doing fine.
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What governs battery life is how it's used and where the computer is carried or stored when not in use. Li-Ion batteries begin to lose their charge from the day they are manufactured whether they are being used or sitting on a shelf. This is why one should never buy a "spare" to keep on hand. You should only have a second battery if you are going to use it. Also, I live in an area where summer temps are 105 or greater. If I leave the laptop in the car, the heat will kill the battery after just days of being exposed to extreme heat. So as you can see there are many influencing factors that affect battery life. At the end of the day, if you find a computer for sale with a dead battery the least of my worries would be if it was killed by the computer as that is highly unlikely. If the computer works fine the condition of the battery is irrelevant.
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Cheers,
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