Totally Bummed....

So I am currently on a business trip to China with my brand new fully loaded T61.


I am here with some business associates - they have Toshiba, Asus, Sony, and Dell laptop. - don't have all the model numbers handy.

Anyways - on the flights out here - about 16 hours worth of flights in business class. As our laptops ran out of juice we plugged them into the outlets that are included at each seat.

All the other 4 brands of laptops had no problem recharging or running off the airplane power.

The T61 - could not use that power to do anything. Could not recharge the laptop with it shut off, could not power the laptop with the battery taken out....nothing. So 3 hours into the 16 hours I was on traveling I was done.

Not sure what the deal is - but right now I want to throw this piece of **** out the balcony and buy something else for my return flight......

 

Are you sure it just wasn't the power outlet that you were using?
Tim

 

I've used it on 767s on a couple occasions no problem..not sure what to say.

 

Man that stinks. Very unfortunate. Is it the outlet on the plane it has problems with or just any outlet?

 

IMO you need a multi power source power converter to get the power required to run and charge the T61p.

Somebody has to make one. Good luck.

 

I tried the outlets on all 3 seats in my section and one of the outlets at my buddy's seat that was working for him.

I also used the Lenovo power adapter that came with my laptop and one of my buddies had a Kensington Universal Air/Auto/AC adapter with all his tips (he just bought that for this trip) - it did not work for me either.

I think the T61 just requires too much power.....As the ultimate business laptop....this is a huge ding against it in my book

 

Make sure there isn't anyone standing beneath the balcony, otherwise you're gonna have alot of 'splainin to do...

 

LOL - Thanks for the heads up.

Looks all clear.....

 

Watch.... someone is going to walk out of one of those trucks!

 

I take it that that was the first time you tried using your Lenovo on an airplane ride? That's strange. The only thing you can do now is wait to see how it is on the return trip, if you do not decide to purchase another one before that. I believe one person has already reported using his T61 just fine on flights, but what about other travelers? Have any of you noticed a similar, or even the exact same, issue?

 

Did your laptop come bundled with the airplane adapter or did you purchase it as an additional accessory?

Is it part number 40Y7630?

 

Is this the only part that will work?

 

Maybe you tried this but you didn't say you did: with the battery STILL IN would it run on the plane's power? You didn't specifically mention that scenario. I personally don't know squat but I'm just theorizing that without the battery in (acting as some sort of buffer) the T61 wouldn't run on some sketchy plane power. Regardless of whether or not it was charging.

 

I'm headed to Samoa next month so I'd love to know if this was an isolated incident or if it is a problem in general with the T61p.

 

If you can, don't forget to report back.

 

HOLD ON!!

I'm gonna wait down there catching your lappy

 

ok - Here is a full recap of everything.

Flying on Northwest Airlines - 747. In business class. The airplane adapters have a special plug. However on this flight they have standard outlets at the base of each seat. It it a little tricky plugging something in but they are standard power outlets.

So I never actually used an airplane "adapter" - I used the standard AC adapter that comes with the T61 AND a universal power adapter made by Kensington. (seen here: http://us.kensington.com/html/13874.html)

Ok once I was plugged in - the Kensonton unit has a light on it so I knew there was power flowing through the unit. I have to assume the same is true for the T61 adapter.

When I plug in the power with the laptop turned on with a battery installed - it pretty much does nothing. The "cord" icon does not light up and the power meter in the start bar does not show anything plugged in.

I was not able to power up at all with the battery removed.

If I turned off the laptop - and plugged in the power adapter -the battery light would light up green, then turn orange, then turn off - then repeat this sequence - it would take about 10 seconds for the whole sequence of lights. After about 5-10 minutes of this the lights would just turn off.

I don't believe the battery charged up at all using this process.

 

OK. Now, does the T61 do this in your hotel room? In other words, with full real power it does or does not work at all and obviously your T61 is hosed in some fashion (?), or maybe it works now and it has something to do with the quality of the plane power, like the T61 sensed something was not right and shut itself down. Just guessing here. I'm no computer guy, I build houses but have to isolate cause/effect in almost the same way.

I assure you all of us who fly and assume our notebooks will run during the flight feel your pain. Don't throw it out the window, just get it fixed!

 

Not an expert, but what about the foreign voltage thing 220V versus 110V?

 

Most laptop AC adapters accept input current from 110-240v to prevent this from being a problem, since it is assumed that people will travel with them, possibly internationally.

My T61 adapter lists acceptable input voltage as 100-240v. I'm thinking the plain might have had dodgy power, or some other odd current issue, based on the funny light pattern (green/orange) you mentioned.

You may wish to get an airplane adapter if you'll be traveling a lot, or you could see how it goes on the return trip.

 

maybe all those other laptops were using power supplies less powerful than the Lenovo 90Watt power supply, and the airplane outlet has some sort of power cut if power exceeds say 75Watts ...

if not that, then post a picture of the laptop after it lands on the ground from your balcony - at least we'll have an idea about how tough the cage was

 

Now that's an interesting comment. I tried to google the power system on NWA to find out what it was, but those details didn't come up.

I did however find this related thread on another forum: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534424

Amazing the stuff people post about.

 

There has to be a reason and a solution for the OP's return flight. Dig deep, peeps, help a bruthuh out!

 

We all really want to help the OP, I'm sure, but what more can anyone say? At this point, the OP's choices are limited; he either must buy a new laptop for the return flight, or he has to try it again to see if it works on the return flight. If it does, then the problem was with the original jetliner. If it does not, then it is obviously a problem with either his power cord or the laptop itself.

 

Ok - in my hotel room they have outlets that are pretty much universal. Fits the US standard plugs and pretty much any other kind you can imagine.

The T61 has no problem with this power. I tested both the Kensington Adapter and the Lenovo adapter in the hotel.

Someone posted that I might need to invest in an airplane adapter. The Kensington unit comes with an airplane power plug, however on my flight / plane where wasn't any plugs that would use the "airplane" adapter.

I am going to be in Hong Kong for a few days before I fly back, I am hoping I can either find another adapter that will work or pickup a couple of extra batteries. Nothing worse than being on an 18 hour trip and only getting to be productive for 2.5-3 hours of it.

 

A very possible answer is what was posted on the 'flyer talk' site and what I have heard before... power on a plane is most often limited to something like 65-75 watts. Unlike the T61 with onboard graphics, the P comes with a 90w supply and may simply draw too much current for most planes.

Quinn

 

If the aircraft power ports were over-current protected, then said protection generally wouldn't kick in when the power brick isn't drawing its full 90W current rating.

Most definitely the laptop won't draw anywhere near 90W when it's completely powered off and just charging its battery. The laptop will only draw full load when its powered on and doing some absolutely serious processing.

 

I thought the photo in post #8 looked like Hong Kong not China. You know, the whole trucks drive on the left side of the street deal.

According to SeatGuru.com, NW's WBC seats have AC outlets. There is no Empower plugs for the Kensington. Flyertalk is a great site. It's my other haunt.

You can try these tricks to prevent triggering over current protection. 1. Use a power saving profile such as Maximum Battery Life even when on AC. 2. Don't let the battery charge when using the computer. You can adjust the charging threshold in power manager or remove the battery. 3. Turn the computer off when charging battery.

If you are looking for an adapter in HK, there is (was?) a Targus store in Wanchai Computer Centre. It's right by exit A4 of Wanchai MTR station. One time I went there to buy a replacement Empower/auto cord after the original cord blew its fuse.