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IBM 600 Series Laptops and Flaky Batteries?
netdemonboberb asks:
"I don't know where else we should turn, because no site will write articles on [this subject] and IBM is denying that their IBM 600 series laptops have flaky batteries. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute distributed these laptops to freshman students in 1999 and almost everyone I knew in my class had this issue. Ralph Levien's page has suggested it appears to be an issue with the 'Smart Monitoring' circuitry.
I'm writing this article to get the issue out in the open so IBM can no longer deny it. These batteries are expensive, and I have had to replace mine 4 times already. Can anyone who reads/maintains slashdot help or provide any advice on getting resolution for this?" I must say that from personal experience, I've wondered if this might be the case as well. I have an IBM Thinkpad 600e laptop and I've already gone through 2 batteries. The laptop is currently inactive as it must be tied to the wall if it is to be used. Has anyone else experienced shorter-than-average battery life using these laptops? Were you able to do anything to improve the battery life?
Your standard nimh cell should last for over 1000 discharge/charge cycles and will not be affected by "topping up" (read unlike nicd memory problem).
Even if you killed your battery and charged it every day this battery should still last close to 3 years. This guys talking about 4 batterys. Thats completely unacceptable.
On another note my compaq presario 1210 model had a zillion power problems with the smart monitoring stuff. But that was more in the fact that the computer would not charge the battery as it always thought it was full.
Wrong. The more you use your battery the longer they last. If you have a laptop and never take it out of the dock (like tons of users in my office building) after a few years the battery will be shot. But if you take it off the dock and use it without being plugged in (ie. only on battery power) the batterys tend to last a LOT longer. I have seen perfectly fine working laptop batterys from the mid and early 90's and others that are just a few years old that don't work worth a Beowolf cluster....