Running Without the Battery and Cleaning

[dgyee]

I have two T40s, a 2373 GU8 and a 2373 72U. I have a couple of basic questions that I would like to clarify. Please tell me if there are any issues in running these two, or any other system, without the battery installed. Basically, I was to preserve the life of the batteries and want to know if removing the batteries (or anything else) would help.

Also, are there any opinions out there on the "best" materials and procedures for cleaning the case. I've hear of everything from alcohol and water to WD40. I've found alcohol and water not strong enough and WD40 sounds crazy. Also what about cleaning the monitor.

Thanks,
dgyee

[Harryc]

Initial cleaning outside Lid etc, I use ( a wet, hot water) Mr Clean magic eraser. (only use it once and sparingly). Do not let water drip into the machine. You would be shocked at what it can do for the appearance of a grubby, scratched Lid. For general cleaning I use Clorox disinfecting wipes. Look at the FAQ for tips on LCD screen cleaning.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=31175

There is no problem running a laptop without the battery, but if you lose power you will also lose data, unless you run it on a UPS battery backup system. On dual core systems, you may notice that the CPU will not run at full speed with the battery removed...not sure about Pentium M's like yours'.

[jdhurst]

<snip> Basically, I was to preserve the life of the batteries and want to know if removing the batteries (or anything else) would help.

<snip>
dgyee

Batteries wear out whether you use them or not. Sure, lots and frequent cycles and heavy duty use will wear out a battery faster. But in normal use, it doesn't much matter whether you remove the batteries or not. ... JDH

[aaa]

Charge percentage control is included with the newer Thinkpads for a reason; a battery with a charge of around halfway wears out alot slower than a fully charged one. Since the feature isn't present in T40s, the only way to do it is by removing the battery. I'd do it for any laptop that sits plugged in most of the time.

[dgyee]

Thanks for the response. I took your advice and cleaning and it seems to work well.

Regarding the post on the battery, I have an older T40 which shows the status of the charge. I'll remove it around 50% to save the life of the battery.

[yak]

What aaa meant is a possibility to tell your laptop not to charge the battery unless it's charge percentage reaches a value of your choice. This lets you leave the battery in the laptop while preventing the laptop from charging it, effectively achieving the same as with a removed battery. AFAIK, this feature was available from T42 onwards.

[davidspalding]

What aaa meant is a possibility to tell your laptop not to charge the battery unless it's charge percentage reaches a value of your choice. This lets you leave the battery in the laptop while preventing the laptop from charging it, effectively achieving the same as with a removed battery. AFAIK, this feature was available from T42 onwards.

The two year old version of Power Manager on my T43 offers this option. It's in the "Battery Details" section IIRC.

[SteveS]

davidspalding wrote:

The two year old version of Power Manager on my T43 offers this option. It's in the "Battery Details" section IIRC.

dgyee wrote that he has a T40. The power manager used in T43 and T42 is not compatible with the hardware in a T40, and won't run. I have tried it and confirmed this. The power manager that supports the T40 does not have this feature.