T30 won't boot from battery

[b3ck3tt]

I have just picked up a T30 which identifies itself as a 2366-87M although the HD is only 20GB so perhaps there have been some changes made.

It is suffering from the memory slot problem - 2*256MB only ever shows up as 256MB in BIOS. Both chips are fine - I can swap them around and boot with either or both and anly ever see 256MB.

As the original O.S. was "stuffed" I have just finished a vanilla XP Pro SP2 install along with some basic thinkpad utilities such as Battery maximiser and wifi driver.

The problem is that with the main battery installed it never boots up.

With the main battery removed the T30 will always boot up first go. If I allow the boot to proceed for a few seconds and then install the battery the boot also proceeds normally.

Once the PC is running I can safely remove the AC power and it runs perfectly happily on the battery until the power is down to 1 or 2% and then shuts down as expected. Running on battery with all shutoff timers disabled the T30 runs for about 1:40 while playing a DVD/movie.

If I leave the battery in the T30 overnight it will charge up fully.

The Battery Health button in maximiser tells me the status is GREEN, full charge capacity is 41.69 Wh, Design Capacity is 47.52 Wh and the battery cycle count is 18.

It seems that the battery is fine power wise both in terms of being able to be recharged and able to power the T30 for a reasonable time. (running on battery and wifi as I write this)

I have tried pressing startbutton 20+ times with AC and main battery removed - no change.

I have removed the CMOS battery, checked with a multimeter at 3+ volts and reinstalled it. The reboot immediately after this clearly showed that CMOS power had been lost so I think this battery is OK.

Can anyone give me some guidance on how to get it to boot with the battery in place?

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to our forums.

I think you may find relevant and helpful threads here:
Boot problem: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=32981
Memory slot problem: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=13262
Contrary to popular belief, the T30 can take 2x 1GB (2GB total) RAM (if both slots work).

On this webpage, http://tinyurl.com/2kw6lp change the Type/Model into your 2366-87M and you can see what your TP originally contained.
You'll find all drivers, BIOS updates, manuals etc. there as well.
Make sure you get the Hardware Maintenance Manual (under 'User's guides and manuals' on the left).
Print that out (ca. 170 sheets single print or 85 pages when you fit 2 pages on 1 sheet). It's an invaluable help to take your TP apart (quite easy).

[b3ck3tt]

Thanks for the links.

I have removed one RAM module just to make sure there are no issues caused by having RAM in an unreliable slot.

I have removed the main battery, CMOS battery and AC power, and then pressed the power button about 20 times.

If I put just the main battery back it will not boot; if I take the main battery out and just use AC power it will boot. If I try main battery and AC power it will not boot. These three options were tried with the CMOS battery out.

I have put the CMOS battery back and tried these three options again - it still only boots on AC power with no main battery.

Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

I have also run PC doctor and so far all the test seem normal including battery and AC power.

[RealBlackStuff]

Perhaps your power button is faulty, or the small button about 1/4 from the right, just where the screen meets the keyboard with a little 'bump' on the lid, is perhaps wobbly?
You may need to open it up (use the HMM) and check that AND the board on which the AC connection sits.
Also check the battery connector inside the laptop. Perhaps the contacts are a bit corroded or bent out of shape?