Toshiba Libretto 50CT Charging Behavior

PotatoFi

Active Tinkerer
Oct 18, 2021
171
355
63
I've noticed that my Libretto 50CT does not charge while powered on. It only seems to charge the battery when the laptop is off or hiberating. Is that expected behavior?
 

Cyclone740

Tinkerer
Oct 29, 2023
100
5
18
I've noticed that my Libretto 50CT does not charge while powered on. It only seems to charge the battery when the laptop is off or hiberating. Is that expected behavior?
Hi I am new to this side of the forums, and I saw your post and thought I would pitch in and try to answer your question.

From my experience, I don't exactly think that is normal behaviour, unless you have it set to behave like that in software. I will check and post an update in a few minutes. I have some of my own Toshiba Libretto 50ct laptops.


P.S I must admit that the plastic can be a real pain to work with once they sustain damage, and the HDDs are a nightmare to replace. If you have replaced your HDD with a form of solid state storage, could you let me know both how you did it, and what you used? Thanks
 

PotatoFi

Active Tinkerer
Oct 18, 2021
171
355
63
If you have replaced your HDD with a form of solid state storage, could you let me know both how you did it, and what you used? Thanks

I have pulled the original hard drive, and put it in storage, and I've replaced it with an inexpensive IDE to SD adapter, and then a caddy that I designed and 3D printed for myself. The physical install was extremely easy, as there's just one screw and plastic cover. Getting the card formatted right for Windows 95 was a little bit tricky (I don't remember what I did), but then I just copied the installation CD-ROM over to C:\Win95\, and installed from there.
 

Cyclone740

Tinkerer
Oct 29, 2023
100
5
18
Hi so regarding the battery not charging while the device is in use, mine also doesn't appear to charge when in use either, so it seems as though it is normal.


I have pulled the original hard drive, and put it in storage, and I've replaced it with an inexpensive IDE to SD adapter, and then a caddy that I designed and 3D printed for myself. The physical install was extremely easy, as there's just one screw and plastic cover. Getting the card formatted right for Windows 95 was a little bit tricky (I don't remember what I did), but then I just copied the installation CD-ROM over to C:\Win95\, and installed from there.
Thank you so much I have not found anything that really gave the information or the help I was needing. Thank you so much.
 

Cyclone740

Tinkerer
Oct 29, 2023
100
5
18
Thanks for checking!
No problem. I was happy that I could help. I also wanted to make it clear that the device will work if the charger is plugged into the laptop, but it just won't charge it while you are using the device. That is the only thing to be aware of.
 

Stinkerton18

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 18, 2022
34
26
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Hey folks, bit late to the party here but I pulled my Libretto out and tried it, exact same thing for me both in and out of the large dock (the one that adds another PCMCIA slot).
 

Cyclone740

Tinkerer
Oct 29, 2023
100
5
18
Hey folks, bit late to the party here but I pulled my Libretto out and tried it, exact same thing for me both in and out of the large dock (the one that adds another PCMCIA slot).
Oh cool you have one of those docks, I personally have been wanting to get one but I can't even find one of the lesser ones let alone the superior one, at least not since 6 years ago. Also to respond to your response regarding this situation, firstly you are not late to the party everyone is welcome, especially if they have something to add to the situation. Secondly, thanks to your observation of this phenomenon happening to you as well even when using the dock, makes me think that my theory with how the power management is dealt with is correct. My theory is that because of the type of batteries that these machines have, Toshiba decided to implement a way for the devices to be used while plugged in and not damage the batteries by over charging them. So their solution to this problem was to simply make it so that the Libretto wouldn't charge when it was in use and on wall power, but would charge when it wasn't in use and connected to wall power, meaning that it has been made to prioritise the use of the wall power rather than the use of the battery. I haven't check, and I am too scared to try it 😅, but I have a feeling that the motherboard might have a power detection and regulation circuit that is used to tell the system to prioritise the use of wall power over the use of the battery, and to only charge the battery when the sub-notebook is not in use. If that makes sense then that is good, if not please let me know and I will try to simplify it again for you, and as a heads up I am not saying that anyone who cont understand what I have written is stupid, I am just saying that I have a tendency to sometimes just go round in circles and also sometimes make thing more complicated than they need to be. So just let me know and I will try to simplify that again if you want me to.

I hope this helps, sorry for it being so long, I just needed to clear my thoughts out about this, and see if my theory holds any water or not.