x61 battery light blinks

[kangaroojack2]

Hi

My lenovo x61 is 15 months old and the 8 cell battery on it was giving me around 4hrs battery life.. and then couple of weeks ago the system update software updated the bios and whole other bunch of software and after that the battery light started to blink when AC charger was plugged in and it would not charge the battery. The battery information says only around 320 cycles. and that battery cannot be charged.

I dont think a bettery can just die.. some firmware on the battery chip is causing this. lenovo refused to exchange it as it was just out of warranty.  Is there a solution to get that battery fixed by some kind of firware reset?  All this problem started after the bios and other updates done by the system update software.

Any advise to get the battery working would be appreciated.

Lenovo X61 type 7764-cto

Thanks

[wjli2]

You can't reset any firmware in the battery, if the firmware/control circuitry on the battery has a problem, the only way to fix it is to get a new battery.

[djaar]

Same problem on same PC with same battery! Since yesterday after following Windoes updates: Office suite SP2, IE8 and Windows defender Def 1.57.806.0.

[herkygirl]

Same problem, same computer here.  I bought mine in September of 2007... so about the same age.  Today... I came home to a blinking battery light and some warning from Lenovo's Message Center saying that I need to replace my battery.

Is this some hoax?  How can it be working perfectly from day one and then just stop working all of a sudden?

Seriously.

[sipp11]

Believe it or not, one of my friends's battery just dies without any notice at all after working perfectly for almost 2 years.

[sandy151278]

same issue with my battery, how can lenovo ship such a buggy product? does someone know how the problem can be fixed?

[jlarios]

Same problem with my Lenovo X61 Tablet 20 months of use, after updating and scanning for viruses, battery lamp started blinking and could not be charged. is there a recall for these batteries.?

[wonko_the_sane]

Hi,

i have the very same problem with a X61s bought around april last year.

Battery neither charges nor discharges.

Some details the windows battery application (Energy Manager?) says:

Remaining capacity: 84%

# of Cycles: 51

Production date: March, 12th 2008

FRU-Part #: 42T5266

The problem seems to be the very same as in the following URL:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-67765.html

Unfortunately the tool says that my battery is not eligible for replacement.

This is pretty odd as i am usually used to the fact that batteries keep loosing capacity over time but do not completely refuse to work as in this case.

Best Regards

wonko

[seanzha]

I met the same problem.

I bought my X61 on Sept. 2007.

6 weeks ago, when I was using the laptop, suddenly I noticed the battery indicator light was blinking very quickly. It's abnormal. Then I found the battery neither charged nor discharged. Now I have to use my AC adaptor always.

My battery's FRU P/N is 42T4505, I checked the recent recall:

http://download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/batt/082009/LandingPage.html?lang=en

But my FRU number is not listed on that page.

I downloaded the "Battery Verification Tool" from this page and run, then the tool direct to a webpage which said I couldn't replace the battery from Lenovo. And I found they will only change battery for free for those user who satisfied their 3 terms simultaneously

• The battery must have already failed due to the Irreparable Damage error.
• The battery FRU part number must be on the list support by the extended warranty shown in the model/part list on this page.
• The age of the battery must be no more than 6 months past the expiration date of the battery warranty.

I checked by the windows battery manager, there isn't any warning message like "Irreparable damage" or "Battery cannot be charged" described on the above recall page. It only said the battery status is poor.

Does anyone know any other solution on this issue?

Best regards,

Sean

Message Edited by seanzha on 08-13-2009 10:43 AM

[webtrashman]

Same computer & battery as OP with same symptoms.... error immediately upon reboot after a Windows Update.  Any resolution yet from manufacturer?