thinkpad t41 battery issue

[ezeuba]

please i am a new user on this forum and dont know where and how to start, hence this posting. my thinkpad t41 has a very low battery life. i wonder why after fully charging it, it doesnt ever last more than 1 hour. is this normal for this model of thinkpad? if not, how can i make it last longer? thru software or firmware upgrade? i'll be glad for any answers. thanks all.

[levimax]

Your battery is worn out so you need to buy a new one if you want longer life. A T41 will get 3-4 hours on a new 6 cell battery and 5-6 hours on a new 9 cell battery.

[FTC]

Your battery is worn out

Well, before assuming that I would :

1. Make sure you have installed the power management thinkpad driver and the 'battery maximizer' utility... navigate to www.ibm.com and look for it (or do it from the software installer which you can find there also).
2. Make sure your power profile for when in battery is correctly set up... i.e, it decreases processor speed and dims the LCD,...
3. Check the battery health and used cycles in the battery information applet.. As a guideline, a battery that only lasts for 1 hour ought to have 150 or more used cycles. Left click the green battery icon in the taskbar and click on 'battery information'. In case battery health is not green, recondition it through the same applet button 'Improve battery health'.

Regards

[ezeuba]

hi, i checked the battery info as u directed me. i saw the cycle count was 239. what does this mean? can i do anything to improve the battery life as it is now? thanks for your response. i appreciate.

[simms]

The battery is gone. Buy a new one from eBay or IBM.

[FTC]

The battery is gone. Buy a new one from eBay or IBM.

I agree. 239 is way too much cycles. It means basically that the battery has been used the equivalent of 239 full discharges. This batteries are normally at half capacity due to wearout with 150 or so cycles... (this is normal with this technology...).... and it can't be reconditioned (at least not at home).