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From: dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: T1000SE battery life (Again!)
Message-ID: <1092@rna.UUCP>
Date: 8 Mar 91 02:00:51 GMT
References: <1991Mar6.144407.3956@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Reply-To: dan@rna.UUCP (Root Beer)
Organization: Rockefeller University Neurobiology
Lines: 31

In article <1991Mar6.144407.3956@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> pwong@theory.tn.cornell.edu (Patrick Wong) writes:
)I have been using the battery for about 13 months now on my T1000SE.  Although
)all along I used every precaution to use the battery from fully-charged
)condition to the time when the machine shuts itself down (the THEORETICAL
)full-discharged state) and also to reset the fuel gauge to absolute zero
)before recharge, the battery life right now is down to 1 and 1/4 hour !
)(and the machine even does not have a memory card that may drain the battery)

)So, should I start considering connecting some small dc light bulb to help
)the battery to discharge further (some netters mentioned earlier about doing
)it to their batteries) or do nothing (other netters said Toshiba tech people
)won't recommend this, although Toshiba also admits that the battery actually
)still has charge by the time the machine shuts itself down).

	The battery definitely has quite a residual charge left when the
machine shuts down. I think Toshiba really wants you to drain the battery until
the machine loses its "hard RAM". I don't know why Toshiba can't set the
shutdown point to make greater use of the battery's residual charge. Perhaps
I'll try and go into the machine to alter that set point. must be a pot or
voltage divider somewhere...
	I've taken to discharging the battery after the T1000SE has shutdown
using a 6volt flashlight lamp. The lamp stays brightly lit for perhaps an
hour or more -- plenty of charge left. I stop when the voltage is 4-5 volts
or so. It seems to help quite a bit.

				Cheers,
				Dan Ts'o		212-570-7671
				Dept. Neurobiology	dan@rna.rockefeller.edu
				Rockefeller Univ.	...phri!rna!dan
				1230 York Ave.		tso@rockvax.bitnet
				NY, NY 10021