A21m battery only charges to 80% and doesn't last long

[Ianski]

The A21m I'm looking at is a model 2628-FPU, bios KXET36WW 1.09, running Windows XP. My daughter brought it to me complaining that it shuts off without warning, the screen goes blank, and a few other issues (probably browser related, or just that the machine lacks the horsepower to do what she wants it to do). Also sometimes it won't recognize that the charger is attached, and as a result dies when the battery does.

I've had it for a couple of days and the only problem I've seen is that the battery won't charge past 80% when the charger is plugged in. Does that mean one or more cells on the battery have failed, or is there some other explanation?

I am probably going to recommend that she buy a newer model - she wants to record videos with a webcam (no, not those kind of videos!) and this machine lacks the video and CPU horsepower to do that well. I can get a refurb'd T40 for about $620 Canadian that might meet her needs better without breaking the bank.

[Ianski]

Solved my own problem - at least as far as the battery goes. I downloaded the latest update to the ACPI Power Management software from IBM (it was just updated in January) - 7KJU08WW.exe is the file name. It seems to have solved the battery charging problem - it now charges to 100%. Still only lasts for 30 minutes or so, though.