X220 only runs if power cord plugged in

[humdinger70]

Something weird with my X220. It won't run on battery. At all. Yes, the battery is fully charged. I usually leave it plugged in all the time (running World Community Grid client on it - one of several computers in my house that are doing that)

If I suspend the machine, it appears to be correctly in suspend mode (power light has slow blink). But the moment I unplug the machine to go portable, it powers off completely. Hitting the power button does no good. Same when I pull the plug without suspending - total power off.

I plug it in again, press the power button, and it restarts and runs again. I have reported this issue - I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 with the 3.19 kernel, latest revision.

FYI, this didn't happen before, I've been able to run on battery in the past. Does the battery need replacing?

[dr_st]

That's certainly a likely possibility.

Why don't you try locating someone with a similar system (X220 or X230) and see if your computer can run on their battery?

[humdinger70]

Got a new battery via Amazon (Sealed, X230, type 44++). Let it charge for a while until it got about half way, then suspended it and pulled the plug. This time it stayed in suspend mode and coming out of suspend it worked fine on battery.

So the battery that came with the computer (manufacture date 08/2011) was apparently on its last legs and couldn't work anymore by itself, even though the statistic in the menu bar said 95+ per cent charged).

OK, new battery = problem solved.