wrote:

The battery on my Windows XP A21m Thinkpad had been working normally
and was not near the end of its life, but now will not power the
computer when it is unplugged from AC power.

The battery meter shows up on my quick launch toolbar and is recognized
by windows, at 97% charged. If I remove the battery while the computer
is on and plugged in, windows recognizes this action and the battery
icon disappears.

So what could be the problem here?

The problem happened suddenly about a week ago and has not gone away.

Thank you.


The problem is due to one of 2 things...the battery is dying,
i.e., not delivering the rated power, even though it shows
holding a charge or the physical connection between the battery
and the Thinkpad is damaged. More likely the former.