The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Battery Gauge Reset on T61

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by thealchemist, Dec 11, 2007.

  1. thealchemist

    thealchemist Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hello All,

    The few basic questions that I have are:

    What is Battery Gauge Reset? How does it help?
    and How to check charging cycle counts?

    Problem in detail:

    I have a T61 Lenovo ThinkPad (obtained on Friday 12/07). Until yday (12/10) morning, the battery meter was a 100% but while I was working through the docking station it dipped to 99% and in a full days work didn't go back to 100%. On my way back to home, it dropped to 98% and now the meter is stuck there. It is a brand new laptop and wouldn't think this should happen.

    I noticed on some forums (including this one) that suggest minimizing charging cycles of the battery. For now, I have removed the battery since I am mostly plugged in. However, the immediate concern for me is that the battery meter starts displaying the 100% it should. I have NOT reset any other settings for the battery. What should I do?

    Thanks in advance.

    The Alchemist
     
    thealchemist, Dec 11, 2007
    #1
  2. tumnasgt

    tumnasgt Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    80
    Messages:
    635
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Try running the battery down to about 70% and then plugging it back in, I think Thinkpads only charge if the battery is below a certain level to reduce wear.
     
    tumnasgt, Dec 11, 2007
    #2
  3. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    3,639
    Messages:
    4,135
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    ThinkPad batteries are like every other batteries. The ThinkVantage Power Manager is the program that you can use to set charge thresholds to maintain your battery life. Read the battery guide here on NBR for more information about battery maintenance.
     
    Arki, Dec 11, 2007
    #3
  4. Hanson

    Hanson Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    63
    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I don't get what you mean in the sentence above.

    The battery loses its charge over time, regardless of whether you use it or have your computer plugged in all the time. The battery is set on default (by Power Manager) to recharge back to 100% once it goes under 96% charge.

    Keeping your battery fully charged is not a good thing as it will reduce its capacity over time. In my 2 years of experience, I have my battery stop charging once it reaches 90% as I have found that if it goes over this level, the battery's capacity gets reduced.
     
    Hanson, Dec 11, 2007
    #4