Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!paperboy!think.com!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!sgi!shinobu!odin!odin.corp.sgi.com!portuesi From: portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops Subject: Re: Battery Life/T1600 (and T1000SE too!) Message-ID: Date: 22 Jan 91 09:48:47 GMT References: <177692@kean.ucs.mun.ca> <3413@scott.ed.ac.uk> Sender: news@odin.corp.sgi.com (Net News) Reply-To: portuesi@sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mtn. View, CA Lines: 48 In-Reply-To: rda@cogsci.ed.ac.uk's message of 20 Jan 91 12:47:47 GMT >>>>> On 20 Jan 91 12:47:47 GMT, rda@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Robert Dale) said: > afinlayson@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes: >>I use a T1000SE, not a T1600 but I have also noticed that when my >>machine sat idle for a week and a half over the holidays that the >>battery had discharged to the point that the "hard" RAM had >>vaporized as well. > This happens to me too. I have to make sure I recharge my T1000SE > about once a week. Also, I find my battery life is now down to about > 1.5 hours maximum, and sometimes it just disappears for no apparent > reason -- sometimes I'll charge it up before a trip, and when I take > it out to use it en route, the battery indicator says I'm full, but 20 > minutes later I get the flashing red light. This is on a machine > which is about 9 months old. Should I worry? I always make sure the > battery is dead before I recharge, although I suspect I didn't do this > once or twice very early on, and I fear I may have screwed up the > battery then. It's funny that you mention this...I've had my T1000XE since May '90 and I'm having the exact same problems that you are having. I currently get somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half between charges. Right now my machine is in a light duty cycle, so I find that I give it a full recharge, use it the next day for about ten minutes, and find that when I turn it on the second day after recharge the battery is either dead or almost dead. Personally, I think my battery is fried, and the problem is mainly due to the T1000XE's "battery management" circutry that automatically shuts down the machine when there is still a good amount of power left in the battery, and quite often misjudges the amount of recharge time to give the battery. Not being an electrical engineer, however, I can only guess. For the moment, I can cope with the bad battery, though I have a replacement on my shopping list. m. -- __ \/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics, Inc. portuesi@sgi.com "A wise wife will realize that the welfare of her family actually is based on her husband's welfare, and vote to free him from an onerous chore so that he can spend the time in ways that renew his energy and stimulate his mind." --Nina Fischer, "How to Help Your Husband Get Ahead" part of the Amy Vanderbilt Success Program for Women