Cant' set charging threshold - T41

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chaccone29 · #1 Post by **chaccone29** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:40 am

I have a T41 2373-5U2 and I am using a extended battery.

I have installed the latest battery maximiser but there is no function to set the battery charging threshold and there is not function to recondition the battery. Can anyone tell me why? or how I can access these functions.

Another question - can I operate my laptop with the battery and the DVD Drive removed ? Will it be dangerous or spoil the laptop?

Thanks

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:52 am

chaccone29 wrote:I have installed the latest battery maximiser but there is no function to set the battery charging threshold and there is not function to recondition the battery. Can anyone tell me why? or how I can access these functions.

Click on the battery icon on the Taskbar and choose 'Improve Battery Health'.

chaccone29 wrote:Another question - can I operate my laptop with the battery and the DVD Drive removed ? Will it be dangerous or spoil the laptop?

The only real danger that I know of is potential loss of data if you unexpectedly lose AC power through power outage or someone accidentally tripping over power supply cord.

chaccone29 · #3 Post by **chaccone29** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 7:07 am

There is no 'Improve battery health'. there is 'launch battery maximiser', 'battery information' though.

#4 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:40 am

The Battery MaxiMiser is apparently dependent or interacts with some other IBM software packages. HERE is a link to the latest version of Battery MaxiMiser and Power Management features. You will see 3 links to other pages that have the latest versions of the other IBM software packages. Verify that you have the latest version of each package. If you do, you could try uninstalling all 4 packages, then reinstalling each one again. You will need to reboot for changes to take effect.

ThinkPad Battery MaxiMiser and Power Management features version 1.38
ThinkPad Configuration package version 1.40b
ThinkPad Presentation Director version 2.40b
ThinkPad EasyEject Utility (Win2000/XP) version 2.21

One other possibility is that you may need to update ACPI Power Management, BIOS, Embedded Controller program, and/or Intel Chipset support to have full functionality of the Battery MaxiMiser and Power Management features. HERE is a link to the driver matrix page for the T41 which has all of the above.

ACPI Power Management version 1.30
BIOS version 1RETDMWW {3.18}
Embedded Controller version 3.04
Intel Chipset Support version 4.20.1009

Note: Run the ThinkVantage Software Installer to find out the software versions of all of the above. Go to Start > All Programs > ThinkVantage > Software Installer. If you do not have this, you can download and install it from the second link I provided above.

shadow · #5 Post by **shadow** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:09 pm

I have a T40 237372U with all of the latest patches, drivers, BIOS, etc. and there is no "improve battery health", "recondition battery" or "set charging threshold" buttons.

There is a Battery Health button on the battery information - status page. There is a Battery Tips button on the Battery Health page that takes me to a help file with "tips for maximizing your battery life", section 3 is reconditioning your battery.

Am I missing something here?

I did uninstall and then reinstall the 4 apps suggested by GomJabbar, but no change.

The help screen "reconditioning your battery" suggests that I let the battery fully discharge, and then recharge, which seems to contradict everything I've read in this forum.

#6 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:08 pm

Well, 'Improve Battery Health' is on my T42, and I believe we are running the same software. I also would have thought that the T40, T41, and T42 would be the same featurewise regarding the software. You might check if the second four items I listed are the same for you.

To access 'Improve Battery Health', it is a single-left-click on the Battery Icon on the Taskbar. A double-left-click brings up a different dialog box.

#7 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:26 pm

I just had another thought, maybe you are viewing the Windows power icon, rather than the Battery MaxiMiser icon. Try the following.

Go to: Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Battery MaxiMiser Wizard. As you go through the screens of the wizard be sure and check the box: "Show Battery MaxiMiser Gauge on Taskbar". When wizard finishes, icon will be on Taskbar.

#8 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:32 pm

It looks like Improve Battery Health is not on a T41 (all latest software). Like other users in this thread, on my machine, it just points to a help file with instructions. ... JD Hurst

sugo · #9 Post by **sugo** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:36 pm

Actually, T41 doesn't have Improve battery health or Charging Threshold override features.

cruzlite · #10 Post by **cruzlite** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:47 am

Just noticed;
'yves' has new T43 maximiser working on T41...(2373GEU)[April 05]...
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... er+manager

#11 Post by **jdhurst** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:18 am

I followed the instructions for Battery Health in the help file, which said roughly: discharge fully from 100 percent to 3 percent; allow to go into standby; charge fully.

My battery health now shows green where it showed yellow prior to this refresh and I have a few more Watt hours at full charge (36 instead of 32).

I do not routinely discharge my Li-Ion battery, but I saw no harm in trying this since the battery is 22 months old. I intend to replace the battery sometime, and we'll see how this works until then.
... JD Hurst

#12 Post by **GomJabbar** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:27 am

jdhurst wrote:I followed the instructions for Battery Health in the help file, which said roughly: discharge fully from 100 percent to 3 percent; allow to go into standby; charge fully.

My battery health now shows green where it showed yellow prior to this refresh and I have a few more Watt hours at full charge (36 instead of 32).

Thanks for the post. I have been leary of trying the Recondition Battery feature with a LiIon battery. I'll feel better about trying it now, but I think I will wait until my battery capacity decreases some more.

shadow · #13 Post by **shadow** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:58 am

GomJabbar wrote:I just had another thought, maybe you are viewing the Windows power icon, rather than the Battery MaxiMiser icon. Try the following.

Go to: Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Battery MaxiMiser Wizard. As you go through the screens of the wizard be sure and check the box: "Show Battery MaxiMiser Gauge on Taskbar". When wizard finishes, icon will be on Taskbar.

Thanks for the suggestions. I definately have the Battery Maximizer installed, latest version.

I also have:

ACPI Power Management version 1.30
BIOS version 1RETDMWW {3.18}
Embedded Controller version 3.04
Intel Chipset Support version 4.20.1009

I don't know about other models, but these features are definately not on my T40 - but I wish they were!

Thanks

Cant' set charging threshold - T41

Cant' set charging threshold - T41

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