Lenovo N100 System Board Repair for a Battery Problem
 

I received one with a wiped hard drive and 1 GB of RAM. The battery
would charge for a few seconds and then the battery icon would turn off.
The N100 would not turn on without a connected AC adapter. This
battery has 85% charge according to Windows 7, but the laptop is not
charging the battery. After a few sessions using this battery for e-
mail and web-surfing, the laptop would abruptly turn off, as if all
power got cut off to the laptop. Turning it on again (with battery
and AC adapter connected) would replicate the behavior after a few
minutes of usage. I was also able to replicate this behavior without
loading Windows (7) - I navigated through the BIOS setup when I
replicated the condition.

I'm able to change the behavior by removing the battery and only using
the AC adapter.

I bought another battery with the same FRU/ASM P/N with the same amount
of charge and was able to replicate the condition.

I bought yet another battery with a DIFFERENT FRU/ASM P/N. This
battery had a minimal amount of charge. Attempting to turn it out
generated the battery icon LED, telling me there's not enough charge to
turn on the laptop. After a few seconds of charging, the battery icon
also turned off. While I haven't loaded WIndows with this battery, I
suspect it will also fail to charge and abruptly shut off.

I'm at a point where I can now say the system board is defective. I'm
aware of the program that replaced certain N100 batteries and I'm aware
this program has expired. I can't update the BIOS because WinFlash
works only in a 32-bit operating system (according to the TXT file), and
my Windows 7 is 64-bit.

I have considered replacing the system board, but would much rather
repair it with a soldering iron. The risk to me is minimal, as I
received the laptop in a barebones state at no cost. I'm presuming the
battery connector is attached to the system board, and no stand alone
battery connector exists for the N100.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's attempted to repair power problems on
this laptop with a soldering iron.

Thanks for reading.

Lenovo N100 System Board Repair for a Battery Problem
 

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:12:20 -0500, "
wrote:

I received one with a wiped hard drive and 1 GB of RAM. The battery
would charge for a few seconds and then the battery icon would turn off.
The N100 would not turn on without a connected AC adapter. This
battery has 85% charge according to Windows 7, but the laptop is not
charging the battery. After a few sessions using this battery for e-
mail and web-surfing, the laptop would abruptly turn off, as if all
power got cut off to the laptop. Turning it on again (with battery
and AC adapter connected) would replicate the behavior after a few
minutes of usage. I was also able to replicate this behavior without
loading Windows (7) - I navigated through the BIOS setup when I
replicated the condition.

I'm able to change the behavior by removing the battery and only using
the AC adapter.

I bought another battery with the same FRU/ASM P/N with the same amount
of charge and was able to replicate the condition.

I bought yet another battery with a DIFFERENT FRU/ASM P/N. This
battery had a minimal amount of charge. Attempting to turn it out
generated the battery icon LED, telling me there's not enough charge to
turn on the laptop. After a few seconds of charging, the battery icon
also turned off. While I haven't loaded WIndows with this battery, I
suspect it will also fail to charge and abruptly shut off.

I'm at a point where I can now say the system board is defective. I'm
aware of the program that replaced certain N100 batteries and I'm aware
this program has expired. I can't update the BIOS because WinFlash
works only in a 32-bit operating system (according to the TXT file), and
my Windows 7 is 64-bit.

I have considered replacing the system board, but would much rather
repair it with a soldering iron. The risk to me is minimal, as I
received the laptop in a barebones state at no cost. I'm presuming the
battery connector is attached to the system board, and no stand alone
battery connector exists for the N100.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's attempted to repair power problems on
this laptop with a soldering iron.

Thanks for reading.

Are you 100% sure you are using the right A/C adapter-charger?

Lenovo N100 System Board Repair for a Battery Problem
 

PeterD wrote in
:

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:12:20 -0500, "
wrote:

I received one with a wiped hard drive and 1 GB of RAM. The
battery would charge for a few seconds and then the battery icon
would turn off. The N100 would not turn on without a connected AC
adapter. This battery has 85% charge according to Windows 7, but
the laptop is not charging the battery. After a few sessions using
this battery for e- mail and web-surfing, the laptop would abruptly
turn off, as if all power got cut off to the laptop. Turning it
on again (with battery and AC adapter connected) would replicate the
behavior after a few minutes of usage. I was also able to
replicate this behavior without loading Windows (7) - I navigated
through the BIOS setup when I replicated the condition.

I'm able to change the behavior by removing the battery and only
using the AC adapter.

I bought another battery with the same FRU/ASM P/N with the same
amount of charge and was able to replicate the condition.

I bought yet another battery with a DIFFERENT FRU/ASM P/N. This
battery had a minimal amount of charge. Attempting to turn it out
generated the battery icon LED, telling me there's not enough charge
to turn on the laptop. After a few seconds of charging, the
battery icon also turned off. While I haven't loaded WIndows with
this battery, I suspect it will also fail to charge and abruptly
shut off.

I'm at a point where I can now say the system board is defective.
I'm aware of the program that replaced certain N100 batteries and
I'm aware this program has expired. I can't update the BIOS
because WinFlash works only in a 32-bit operating system (according
to the TXT file), and my Windows 7 is 64-bit.

I have considered replacing the system board, but would much rather
repair it with a soldering iron. The risk to me is minimal, as I
received the laptop in a barebones state at no cost. I'm presuming
the battery connector is attached to the system board, and no stand
alone battery connector exists for the N100.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's attempted to repair power
problems on this laptop with a soldering iron.

Thanks for reading.

Are you 100% sure you are using the right A/C adapter-charger?


The AC adapter is genuine Lenovo and is rated for the exact number of
volts and amps. If I get my hands on another one, I'll try it with
THAT adapter. I honestly anticipate the same results.