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It turns out that the ibm person was probably just trying to eliminate the surge protector as a possible source of the problem. As for recharging, yes I'm sure this is a frequently posted question but I think that's in part because different manuals seem to say different things. My thinkpad 355 manual says that to preserve battery-pack life one should "not charge the battery pack until all of its power is used" and that "Once you start charging the battery pack, do not use it until it is fully charged" which implies that it should be fully drained and then fully charged and this differs from the description another respondant gave and from the advice others have given me. The other problem, btw, turned out to be a defective AC chord adaptor and ibm is shipping a new one. thanks for the input. -- jlph