Thinkpads Forum

I am sure this must have been covered here before, but a search of the FAQ and Archive didn't turn up anything.

I would like to update the BIOS on my ThinkPad 1500I (2621-560), but the battery is dead and the power convertor on the mainboard is the culprit. The machine works fine on the power supply, but does not even recognize that a battery even could be installed.

IBM bios updater will not let me update the bios without inserting a fully charged battery, which I have tried, but it does not recognize that a battery is installed.

Any way around this problem?

Thanks in advance,
Bill Gibbs

NO...sorry for the short answer but you need to fix the power convertor (...do you mean AC/DC board?) first, then you'll need the new or almost new battery to update the bios. I know that wasn't the answer you wanted, but from my experience, there just isn't a way around updating the Bios, unless you have a battery that charges to full, or at least almost full charge.

Bill, sorry I can't help you with updating your bios. Your best bet is to get things working correctly before flashing the bios. I have a 2621-420 that has the same problem. I can use it fine on AC power, but as soon as you unplug the cord it cuts off cold. I downloaded and ran PC doctor DOS, and it would not recognize my battery either. The funny thing is that both batteries I have charge fine, and they test good per the hardware maintainance manual. How did you determine that your DC/DC board was bad? I would appreciate any help you could give me.
Thanks