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Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 07 Oct 2014, 18:52
by mustard
Hello,
I am a new porteus user on a LenovoZ580 laptop, running it off a usb drive.
I have some experience with Linux, having used Ubuntu and Arch earlier.

I wanted to know if there is a way to enforce battery charging thresholds in Porteus, such that I can specify a max percentage value beyond which my battery is not charged, even if the power adapter is plugged in.
I ask because it worked while using an Ubuntu live usb (the threshold was 59% or 60%), and I also recall the same working on Arch earlier.
However, it has been some time now since I used Linux, and I have forgotten whether it worked off-the-shelf, or some changes were required; and I have been unable to find concrete information for implementing this on Porteus.

So, could somebody direct me how I should go about doing it?

Re: Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 07 Oct 2014, 19:36
by Slaxmax
For safety, the limits are on the inside battery hardware.

Re: Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 09 Oct 2014, 08:00
by mustard
Thanks,
your reply indicates that there may be no way to do it using Linux alone.
I forgot to mention that when I previously used Ubuntu/Arch, I was dual booting with Windows 8 on the hard drive (and using Lenovo Power Mgmt on Windows).

So, maybe Windows toggled a hardware setting in the battery, which persisted across reboots.

One possible solution seems to be reinstalling Windows on the hard drive, use official Lenovo power mgmt. to set threshold, and then keep using Porteus as always.
It seems tortuous to reinstall Windows just to toggle a battery power setting. :o
Thanks again, for your reply.

Re: Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 09 Oct 2014, 08:36
by Slaxmax
Maybe you got it wrong. The laptop battery has to have a strict control of charge and discharge, if it fails it can cause fire or explode.
No sense in changing it. Move the threshold values ​​you can shorten the battery life.
I do not think the windows have a control over it.

Re: Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 09 Oct 2014, 18:25
by mustard
Sorry, I didn't understand you completely.
I am not saying that windows controls battery charge thresholds natively per se, but using Lenovo's proprietary "Lenovo Power Management" (which uses a proprietary driver I presume), you can indeed choose an option to "maximize battery lifespan", instead of maximum battery runtime, which fixes the battery charge limit at 60%.

This was the setting I used with windows. And, as I mentioned earlier, this threshold stuck when I booted into Ubuntu or Arch, alongside Windows.
Hence, my assumption that windows (along with Lenovo power mgmt.) modified this setting on the battery.

Moving the threshold values around senselessly can damage the battery, I agree, but a setting which comes directly from the manufacturer, i.e., Lenovo, I would assume serves some kind of purpose. Moreover, the internet mentions that if the laptop is used mainly with AC power, it is best to keep the battery around half-full, since it is rarely used.

I can test my hypothesis by reinstalling Windows, using Lenovo's power mgmt. software, applying the setting, and then checking whether the battery settings persist across reboots to Porteus, but it would be too much of an overkill. I have come round to the fact that unless Lenovo's battery power drivers come to open-source, there may be no way of doing it using Linux alone.
I hope I have made my point clear.
Thanks again for your interest.

Re: Battery charging threshold on Lenovo Z580

Posted: 09 Oct 2014, 20:04
by Slaxmax
Ok.

This only works in thinkpad "IBM" Lenovo.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/244946/h ... vo-easypad


check if exist this option in your laptop
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image laptop LG