R51 will not operate on battery power

My R51 works just fine on AC power but when I unplug the AC it runs for a short time then reboots back to the desktop then reboots again a number of times. Then after a few reboots it simply quits starting on battery power. I have removed the battery and cleaned the connections but still no luck.

The battery was replaced just a couple of months ago so it should be good. It shows in the tray having a full charge and it goes down a little but charges again so it seems OK. I went into BIOS to see if there was something that was making it shut down and restart but couldn't find anything. Somewhere I read that a overheating CPU will shut it down but nothing seems to be overheated and why would it just shut down on battery power but not on AC power?

I just can't figure out what it could be and any ideas will be appreciated.

 

Do you have Power Manager installed? Take a look in there to see what the design capacity and full charge capacity say. If the battery appears to be healthy then shut the laptop down, remove the battery, and hold down the power button for one minute. Put everything back and see if things are better.

 

I am not sure if I have a Power Manager installed, where would I find it, in Power Options in the control panel? I did pull the battery out and hold the power button for a minute but that didn't seem to do anything.

Once it shuts down for last time it won't start again on battery power until I plug in the AC power for a while, then it will start again. Once I get Windows started I unplug the AC power again and wait to see what will happen. When it shuts down it says it is going into the standby mode but it won't start again and there is still power in the battery.

 

Which version of Windows do you have installed?

Power Manager is the little green battery icon on the lower right-hand corner of your taskbar, like shown here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/typo3temp/pics/e5e42c9831.jpg

Here are all the drivers for the R51: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-55029. I would install Power Management, diagnose, and go from there.

 

Thank you very much for the information. I have one issue though; I downloaded and installed the driver, restarted the computer but I can't find the icon or the program in program files so I need to know how to get it up and running.
I see the program in add/delete programs.

 

I think one of the problems is that I don't have any of the Thinkpad software utilities installed on this and I don't have the IBM CD that included them. Installing drivers for software that isn't there doesn't seem to be working.

Is there anywhere that I can get the software install discs for this laptop?

 

did you replace the battery with a lenovo brand battery? i made the mistake of buying an agptek battery for my t61p...besides the obnoxious "this is not a genuine battery" message, it caused the system to spontaneously shut down a couple of times, as well as go into standby once when the battery was at 90%. I trashed that battery and got a lenovo...no more problems.

 

You might have the answer. No where on the battery does it say Lenovo. It says Notebook Batteries, Model:IT4, Battery Type: Lithium-ion, Volts:10.8V, Capacity 4400mAh, Made in China. I am going to get an OEM battery. Thanks!

 

Regarding the OEM battery there seems to be a lot of aftermarket choices. Where can I find an OEM battery for my R51?

 

thenerds.net and newegg.com seem to be trustworthy places that will clearly distinguish who the battery manufacturer is. Make sure you read the descriptions carefully, wherever you buy from. Some places can be downright purposefully cryptic about it. They'll say "Lenovo battery" which means "Battery made by someone else for a Lenovo machine". Make sure it clearly states "Manufacturer: Lenovo". If it doesn't say it explicitly, don't trust it.

You can always order direct from Lenovo, too, but it'll take forever and probably cost more.

 

As for Lenovo software, just go to their site and download system update. It will get all of the latest updates for software and drivers etc.

 

I have gone to their website for the software and I have downloaded all the drivers and software I can that work. Battery Maximiser Wizard seems to work OK and I ran the battery conditioner last night which didn't help my problem. The computer still goes to stand-by when running on the battery and will not come back up until I shut it off, plug it in to AC power and wait a while.

The problem is someone formated this HD and the original IBM Thinkpad software is not there anymore. I downloaded and installed the Rescue and Recovery software but when I run it it can't find the original software to reload. I need to try to find an original software CD that came with the R51 if I can.

BTW, I don't see any System Update download?

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-55029#inf

 

Sorry but I still have the problem of the r51 going to standby while on battery power and not being able to bring it back. It works just fine on AC power but when I unplug the AC it will go to standby after a few minutes and will not come back. I need to shut it off and wait awhile then start it up again. BTW, the battery seems fine an it is fully charged. I just can't figure out why this is happening and I would like to use battery power now and then.

 

This sounds like a battery with bad cells.

I have a Dell laptop with a battery that's as old as the system itself. The battery certainly has a problem because the system lasts considerably less, even if the battery claims it's fully charged. The pack itself claims 50% of the design capacity with my battery utility. So it should last about an hour, right? A fresh battery would last 2x that, easy. Yet, it will go from 100%, and will suddenly drop to almost nothing with the warning light and go on standby (if even that). I'm lucky if I get 5-10 minutes on it!

You bought an aftermarket battery for a laptop that's already several years old. Just because you only bought the battery a little while ago, doesn't mean it has to be good; it could still have gone bad. I wouldn't be surprised if this pack sat in a warehouse for years before you got it...

You play a big gamble with laptop batteries not OEM, as "cheap" cells can really kill their overall quality. Lenovo batteries aren't expensive merely to nickel and dime you, btw. You factor in the old age of the laptop, and you significantly increase your chances of buying a non-OEM battery with cells much older than they would be with an OEM battery of the same laptop. A battery with cells that are old in age, even if the battery itself hasn't been used, is still detrimental.

 

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-61432