R 51 Will Not run on battery unless it is in safe mode.

[one2lose]

R 51 will run great on AC power. Updated and no virus on machine. If the power cord is removed the laptop shuts off and tries to restart, only getting to the Windows Splash page over and over endlessly. The battery has had 2.5-3 hours of run time available. The battery meter shows 100% and charging on AC power.

This is what the big clue is, I think. On battery power it will run fine if I start it in Safe Mode. I can get 2.5-3 hours of battery life in safe mode. Restarting on battery power it endlessly trys to restart. On AC power, runs right. No blue screen before restart ever. I have set the startup and recovery property set to NOT restart after system failure.

I DO NOT get any error reports at all. This has been a great machine for the last 10 years. Still great on AC power.
How about a plan of action to figure out what has to be fixed.
Thanks
Jim K

[one2lose]

I should have added that it is running XP Pro.

[Neil]

Very interesting that you can get it to run in Safe Mode....

I too have a R51 (with Intel graphics) that I thought was running perfectly as I set it up with Win XP for my mother-in-law. But, as soon as I started to show her how nice it was (running on battery now) it did just what you are describing. Would try to boot and then just re-boot, usually just after getting to the XP desktop.

I never tried safe mode, but I doubt that it would have made any difference in my case, because I would get the same thing with whatever Linux distro it was I later installed on it. It would always go into a continuous re-booting cycle on battery, whether booted with AC connected, or not.

I continued to use this particular R51, on a desk, always connected to AC for several weeks. I now think the problem all along was a failing Southbridge BGA, because after a while this same R51 got to where it would not come out of suspend unless I put pressure on the Southbridge chip. Now it won't boot at all on battery or AC unless pressure is applied to the Southbridge chip.

Hope the same is not the case with yours, but that is my story.

[craigmontHunter]

I had the exact same problem with my T41 - it lasted me out the school year and I got a T61 the following year. You will probably need a new motherboard, unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of other options.