Tom Brandt <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have a Gateway Solo 9300 notebook, which spends almost all of its time
> plugged into the port replicator, so the battery is almost always charging.
> On the rare occassions when I use it on battery power, the battery lasts
> less than 15 minutes. This is the second battery, which I purchased in Jan.
> 2002. It lasted around 8 hours then.

> Do these things wear out after a year and a half? Is it because it's almost
> always charging? Is there any way to recover the full use of the battery?

Just as a point of comparison, I have an IBM ThinkPad 600X that I've
been using for a few years, and it has the same issue with batteries.
I believe it's on it's fourth lithium-ion battery.  I use it under the
same conditions as you -- plugged into the charger most of the time,
with occasional brief periods running off the battery when I'm carrying
it to someone else's office, etc.  The batteries seem to last about a
year or so, then the available battery time starts to drop off, till
eventually it will last only a few minutes.

My coworkers have the same or similar models, and they have the same
battery problems.

--
Wayne Brown  (HPCC #1104)  | "When your tail's in a crack, you improvise
[log in to unmask]      |  if you're good enough.  Otherwise you give
                           |  your pelt to the trapper."
"e^(i*pi) = -1"  -- Euler  |           -- John Myers Myers, "Silverlock"

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