faigin@aerospace.aero.org (Daniel P. Faigin) (01/01/91)
Well, I have been working with by T1600/40 (1.44M floppy, 40M hard disk, 5M RAM, MegaHz Int. Modem) for about a month now, and I am noticing something that disturbs me. I don't know if it is normal behavior, so I figured I'd ask the net before screaming to the dealer. The problem is battery life. As I mentioned before, the batteries begin to discharge even if the machine is powered off, to the point they begin would begin recharging after a day or two. As a result, I would estimate the 2 battery packs might last 1-2 weeks with the machine off. With the machine on, I am getting what I would guess to be 1-2 hours usage from the *2* packs. This is different from what I was told by the dealer, which was ~5 hours (2.5/pack). Is this normal behavior, or do I need to scream that I appear to have defective batteries, and demand replacement batteries? Should I contact Toshiba directly on this? Daniel -- [W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 213/336-8228 [Email]:faigin@aerospace.aero.org [Vmail]:213/336-5454 Box#3149 "A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually" -- Abba Eban
afinlayson@kean.ucs.mun.ca (01/02/91)
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. I seem to recall reading that the backup battery should keep the hard RAM hard for a month or more without the main battery being recharged. Do we have defective batteries or is the technical literature overly optimistic? Chris Finlayson, Dept. of Sociology, Memorial U., Newfoundland
bruce_martin@canrem.uucp (bruce martin) (01/04/91)
In <FAIGIN.90Dec31082729@sundevil.aerospace.aero.org>, Daniel P. Faigin
writes:
I am getting what I would guess to be 1-2 hours usage from the
*2* packs. This
is different from what I was told by the dealer, which was ~5
hours (2.5/pack).
Is this normal behavior, or do I need to scream that I appear to
have defective batteries, and demand replacement batteries?
Daniel, the problem is your Megahertz modem. I have the same problem
with my T1200. It seems that your modem (an Easytalk 2400, I'll bet)
gobbles almost as much juice as the rest of your laptop does ...AND YOU
CAN'T TURN IT OFF VIA THE POP-UP WINDOW!!!! The only way to turn off a
Megahertz modem is by running the SETUP program to disable it. (If you
don't believe me, leave your modem enabled by SETUP, but off according
to the pop-up window. Then run your comm program. Your modem will
initialize and work fine, even though the pop-up window insists that it
is still off!)
Granted, your batteries do drain when idle -- because they are used to
keep the built-in CMOS clock/setup battery charged. And T1600 batteries
are good for a *maximum* of 2 hours *each*, no matter what your
dealer said. But if you take the time to turn your Megahertz modem
*completely* off when you are not using it, you should see a measurabkle
increase in battery life.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
bruce.martin@canremote.uucp
bruce.martin@rose.uucp
72561.3224@compuserve.com
--
Canada Remote Systems. Toronto, Ontario
NorthAmeriNet Hostrda@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Robert Dale) (01/20/91)
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. R -------- Robert Dale Phone: +44 31 650 4416 | University of Edinburgh UUCP: ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!its63b!cogsci!rda | Centre for Cognitive Science ARPA: rda%cogsci.ed.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | 2 Buccleuch Place JANET: rda@uk.ac.ed.cogsci or R.Dale@uk.ac.ed | Edinburgh EH8 9LW Scotland -- Robert Dale Phone: +44 31 650 4416 | University of Edinburgh UUCP: ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!its63b!cogsci!rda | Centre for Cognitive Science ARPA: rda%cogsci.ed.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | 2 Buccleuch Place JANET: rda@uk.ac.ed.cogsci or R.Dale@uk.ac.ed | Edinburgh EH8 9LW Scotland
dlow@polluxSVALE.HP.COM (Danny Low) (01/22/91)
>(Robert Dale) >This happens to me too. I have to make sure I recharge my T1000SE >about once a week. Not bad. The new Toshibas draw a small amount of power from the battery when "off" to maintain the resume feature. The machines are never truly off unless your battery is totally dead. >Also, I find my battery life is now down to about >1.5 hours maximum, and sometimes it just disappears for no apparent >reason Your battery has acquired a "memory". It happens with nicads. You can lose the memory by discharging the battery until it's totally dead and recharging it. Cycle through this process about half a dozen times. If that fails, it's time to get a new battery. You might be able to get your battery replaced under warranty. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP CPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (01/22/91)
>>>>> 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
dlow@polluxSVALE.HP.COM (Danny Low) (01/23/91)
>Now I'm all worried: What does one need to watch out to extend >the life of a battery? You seem to suggest that the battery has >to be totally dead to re-charge it? I don't want my battery to >die out in a few months.. thanks, -turgut The Toshiba laptops use nicad batteries. Like all nicads, they work best and last longer if you charge them up, use them until the charge is gone and then recharge them. Otherwise they develop what is call a "memory" and will not recharge fully. The result is a partially charged battery that will not give the full service it should. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP CPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
khkl@doc.ic.ac.uk (K H K Lin) (01/24/91)
In article <177692@kean.ucs.mun.ca> afinlayson@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes: > Path: icdoc!ukc!mcsun!uunet!stretch.cs.mun.ca!leif!afinlayson > From: afinlayson@kean.ucs.mun.ca > Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops > Date: 2 Jan 91 10:17:56 GMT > Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada > Lines: 9 > > 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. I seem to recall reading that the backup > battery should keep the hard RAM hard for a month or more without > the main battery being recharged. Do we have defective batteries > or is the technical literature overly optimistic? > > Chris Finlayson, Dept. of Sociology, Memorial U., Newfoundland According to what my menu says, the battery pack last for 1 week, the backup battery last for 12 hours, and the RTC last for 1 month. My impression is that only the battery pack and the backup battery will maintain the contents of the HardRAM, may be shoter if you have extra RAM installed. The RTC is only for the clock and config.sys. I have a question to ask also. Normally I charged the battery pack to full capacity. Then when I am not using the machine, I leave the AC out. When I am using the machine, I leave the AC in because I normally works for a long time, >> 3 hours. Will that affect the battery life? Or will the battery developes a memory? Kenneth Lin | ! Kenneth H K Lin * --+-- | ! Dept of Computing +---|---+ / +---+ -+ ---+--- ! Imperial College --\ |---+---| /|--| - |--| /|\ ! 180 Queens Gate / +---|---+ |--| O |--| / | \ ! London SW7 2BZ | -----+----- ---------------- / | \ ! United Kingdom | | / \ o o o o ! \______________ ! khkl@doc.ic.ac.uk