Switcing between second battery to base battery X31 Solved

[weryo]

Hello,

I am using Thinkpad X31 with X3 Ultrabase,...equiped with two batteries!BIOS is up to date!
All the drivers are up-to-date,......The battery maximizer is working properly!
The Notebook can runs up to 9 hours!

One things annoys me:

When the second battery discharges to zero,..the laptop stops/shuts up/.
Then I have to switch-on again and to run on basic battery!

Is there a way for automatic switching procedure between batteries without suspending or shutting- of,....script,..utility or something helpful!?


Thank you in advance!

[sjthinkpader]

Welcome to the forum.

I have the X3 Ultrabase too but haven't check the battery switching. Is the BIOS and Embedded Controller firmware up to date? Looks like some fixes were implemented in Embedded Controller firmware v1.00 and v1.02 for battery functions.

[virge]

When the second battery discharges to zero,..the laptop stops/shuts up/.
Then I have to switch-on again and to run on basic battery!

I've never tried a battery in the Ultrabase, but that doesn't sound normal. I use a secondary battery which attaches to the docking connector on the X30. My X30 discharges the secondary battery first and then switches over to the main battery without a power-down. I'm almost certain that the X31 should behave the same way. I don't see how a battery in the Ultrabase should be any different.

[weryo]

Yes,It is a light in the tunnel!
Could you please share your power settings,...battery maximizer version,....or script that makes automatic switching between batteries!?

Thanks in advance!

[sjthinkpader]

I think I am using Power Manager 1.51a for all my TPs except a X20. But more important is your BIOS/Embedded Controller versions.

[virge]

I think that switching between the two batteries is a built in feature and not controlled by battery maximizer. I would go with sjthinkader's advice and check out the Bios and Embedded Controller versions you have.

[weryo]

Thank you a lot for advices ,...will try,..and inform you!

Edit":

The bios version is the latest one,...the controller too!

The question is up again!

[sjthinkpader]

Since you have two batteries, how about switching places and see if there are any differences.

I took a look at the Ultrabase X3 yesterday and it doesn't allow the third battery. Once the bottom slot is used, there is a bumper that comes up to bar the Ultrabay battery from being inserted. Likewise once the Ultrabay battery is in place, there is a bump to prevent the bottom battery from being attached.

[weryo]

Now I am with switching places,....discharging,....will see if there is a difference!
Thanks all for attention!


edit:
the same,..after discharging the docking battery,...the notebook shuts down,....!

[weryo]

SOLVED


Thank You a lot good people!

Rolling back the bios and embedded controller to an earlier version!
Then updated to the last bios and controller again.

Now everything is working properly,....the second battery discharges to zero,...then laptop switches automatically to main battery and continue running till the end!
Thank you again,....great forum people!

Have a nice evening!

[dr_st]

Resurrecting this ancient thread, because I may have a related issue with my Thinkpad X32. If I run the notebook on the base, with the second battery attached, it uses the base battery, and not the built-in one. If at this point I remove the laptop from the base, it shuts down, instead of switching to the main battery.

I assume this behavior is not normal either. I'd like to investigate the BIOS / Embedded controller stuff.

1) Which version ended up working for you? It seems that they are the same for X31 and X32, according to the driver matrix.

2) Which version did you roll back to and update from to make it work?

[topmahof]

x32, Bios 3.02, EC 1.08.

Yeh, that is normal.

You have to click "safely remove hardware" in the taskbar and click eject docking station. The screen will flash a few times and then let you undock. The flashing is due to transferring the batteries.

You can hot dock with no problems.

Dave

[dr_st]

I was playing with it a bit yesterday, and came to the same conclusions.

The blue button on the front bezel of the ultrabase will achieve the same undock effect (you have to hold it for a couple of seconds). However, it seems to work only when a power management driver is loaded. It has no effect in the BIOS, which is just a tad unfortunate.

Interestingly, while the undock action switches the batteries and cuts power to the optical drive and the ports on the ultrabase, it does not cut the main power. The laptop can still receive power through the jack on the dock.

I'll have to wait and see whether the laptop correctly transfers battery power from the base battery to the main battery when docked. I guess the difference between battery running out and just yanking it off the dock is that in the first case the system has enough time to transfer power gracefully (since the battery does not die immediately upon reaching 0%), whereas in the second the power loss is too sudden.

Then again, somehow laptops don't shut down if you yank the AC out of them. So there is a way to have circuitry that allows for very rapid power source switching on the fly. But maybe it is a tad too complex for them to bother to build it in for the second battery.

It also seems that the only thing for which the undock button is necessary is switching batteries. When running off the main battery, without another one in the base, hot docking and undocking works with no issues.

[topmahof]

Mine runs off the base battery first, then switches to the laptop battery.

Everything that you concluded is the same as what I found.

I wonder if undocking a slice battery that's attached via the ultrabay connection will shut it down as well. Probably. I don't have one to test it with, though.

Dave

[misfit]

I'll have to wait and see whether the laptop correctly transfers battery power from the base battery to the main battery when docked.

Hi again.

Just wondered if you sorted this out? I've been using my X32 with just the one battery but there are quite a few good batteries in my drawer, from my X31s. I decided to exercise them all as I've had good batteries just turn bad if stored too long. I was hoping to do two at once, one in the base, and run an avi in a loop (unattended) to drain them both.

However, as in the first post in the thread, when the base battery dies so does the laptop! Latest BIOS and controller firmware (and not keen on messing around too much flashing back and forth with old versions unless I know what's worked before - I'd hate to brick my X32).

Any input appreciated, it's not supposed to do this, it's supposed to use the base battery, then gently switch to the laptop battery, no fuss. It'd be nice to have it do that, especially as I'm due for a medical procedure or two soon and it'd be nice to have 8hours+ use of the X32 away from power.

Cheers,

[dr_st]

Hmmm.... Actually I don't remember whether I've ever conducted the experiment (letting the laptop run the base battery down and see if it transfers to the main battery automatically).

Now that you got me curious, I might try it in the next couple of weeks.

[misfit]

Well, I just tried it again today with a different pair of batteries and it worked just fine. When I swapped them out I noticed that the battery that *was* in the ultrabase was a re-pack job, so maybe the cells died faster than the controller predicted and that's why it didn't swap cleanly?

Anyway, the pair I put in today ran flat cleanly, are charging again now and I'll run them down again tomorrow. They've been in my drawer for over a year, since I had my X31-buying period. Exercising them's got to be better than just leaving them sitting don't you think?

Cheers,