[ltp] Thinkpad battery exhausted in less than a year?

[Brian Beattie]

On Mon, 2004-11-15 at 13:03, Martin Gramatke wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have a Thinkpad X24, model 2662MWG, for two years now and I have no luck
> with batteries.
> The first battery was dead after one year and now the second is loosing
> capacity dramatically.
> 
> These batteries a extremely expensive, around 200US$. I hate to buy a new
> one
> after such a short time.
> 
> How long do your batteries last? 
> 
> Am I am doing something wrong?
> The notebook is used daily at normal room temperature. I power the notebook
> when the battery is less than 15% and I disconnect power, as soon as they
> are 100% charged. If the notebook is off I sometimes do not disconnect and
> leave it powered overnight. I avoid deep discharges.
> 
> Now I have to buy the third battery. I have the choice between 10.8V/4000mAh
> (FRU 02K6760) and 14.4V/1700mAh (FRU 02K6758). I already had these rubbishy
> 10.8V batterys. Should I try the 14.4V this time?
> 
> What do you think of third party batteries? They cost half as much as
> original IBM batteries.
> 
> Are there any tools that give me more information than
> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state and cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state? 
> 
> I am interested in number of charge/discharge cycles, manufacturing date,
> manufacturer of the cells?
> 
> regards
> Martin

these battries, like all battries have a limited charge/discharge life.
it is best to be plugged in when ever power os available.  The battery
packs themselves are actually intelligent and will not overcharge.  Also
they are not Nicad so they do not have the "memory" problem, i.e. they
do not need to be periodically discharged.  If you are running on
batteries on a daily basis with several charge cycles a day, I'd say you
are getting pretty good life out of your batteries.
-- 
Brian Beattie   LFS12947 | "Honor isn't about making the right choices.
beattie@beattie-home.net | It's about dealing with the consequences."
www.beattie-home.net     | -- Midori Koto