Thinkpads Forum

Hello all,

I’m waiting to receive a new T400 with Vista Home Premium (btw...never used the Vista… only the XP).

I am wondering (never have a laptop before) if there is anything in particular that I should/need to do starting when I will plug the laptop?

I start to check if there are some guide lines in one place regarding the first thing to do when you receive the T400.

From your experience, what you believe is important to do… to avoid (at least we try) any future problems?
Which steps need to follow (one by one)?

Yes…I have many questions…For example:

1) Battery questions:
- Battery came full charged or should I charge it up first?
- I was wondering whether I should leave my battery (9-cell Lithium Ion) in when using AC power… If I leave it in, will it degrade the battery?
- did you use ThinkVantage Power Meter or VISTA to maximize the lifespan of your battery by configuring the power profile?
- How you keep your battery charged?... start charging when below 36% and stop charging at 40%.?- how to do if it true?
2) Vista questions:
- What is the first thing to do?
- If something go wrong with Vista which are the steps to restore the system to the factory state?...I understand there are 3 DVDs: Operating system disc+ Product recovery disc+ Supplemental disc (???)
-To be more precisely: How can exactly/properly made/use the recovery discs?Please step by step.
-Did somebody from you use or how can be use the "Create Product Recovery Media" tool under Thinkvantage to create these discs?
3) Maintenance questions
And so on…

Thanks in advance for any help!

Note from Admin: Fixed some formatting problems.

As for the battery, I only charge it when it is near dead. I set the power manager to start charging at 5% or lower and stop charging at 100%.
I still believe that the "memory effect" with batteries exists despite claims by battery manufacturers. Although it is much better than it was years ago with Ni-Cad batteries.

kingweb wrote:As for the battery, I only charge it when it is near dead. I set the power manager to start charging at 5% or lower and stop charging at 100%.
I still believe that the "memory effect" with batteries exists despite claims by battery manufacturers. Although it is much better than it was years ago with Ni-Cad batteries.

This is a very bad idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_io ... and_charge

To maximize the battery lifespan of your notebook:Charge whenever possible, but set the power manager to stop charging at 50% to 70% normally, and only fully charging when you know you need to use the battery. However, this can be somewhat of a hassle. In the end, it is simpler to replace the battery after two years.

ps. If you always leave the battery charged near 100%, then the battery deterioates relatively quickly.