compaq laptop battery

[gr33n_day]

i have a quite old compaq laptop (not sure of year but has windows 95 and word 97)

no matter how long i have it charging, 10 minutes or 10 hours, i switch it on, the desktop appears, i'm about to load a program and it switches off automatically, even when i run it with the battery charging. whats up?

[romko]

sounds like the NiCad battery has deteriorated through years of inactivity. see here for more info:

http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/aapsfaq.htm

[inetbuff]

Not sure if this will help, but there is a laptop dealer called (something like) Notebooks UK who advertises in a fortnightly `magazine' called Micro Mart which is available at newsagents. He might be able to help you out. Also try using the google search engine using keywords like this: "Compaq" +"laptop" +"batteries" and see if you can find any reputable-looking dealers who might be able to sell you a new or a reconditioned one.