You may notice a red X through the battery icon in the menu bar of a PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard) indicating the battery is not installed when in fact it is. When viewing the Control Strip module for the battery, it is not shown there either.

In some cases, the battery has gone into a deep discharge state. This situation may arise if the battery has been left in the computer for an extended period of time without AC power. The battery can discharge to a point where it is no longer recognized by the PowerBook as evidenced by the red X through the battery icon in the menu bar.

To help prevent this situation, try these suggestions:

• Recharge the battery when only one of the four green LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) on the battery is on, or shows one green LED blinking.
• If the PowerBook is not going to be used for an extended period of time, fully charge the battery and then remove it from the PowerBook for storage.

1. Insert the battery in either bay and leave it there for approximately 30 seconds.

2. After 30 seconds, release the battery and pull it out so that it protrudes from the bay approximately one inch, you do not need to fully remove the battery from the bay.

3. Leave the battery extended for several seconds then reinsert it for another 30 second interval.

Apple has posted a system software extension named Battery Reset 2.0 that can be used to recover a battery that does not accept a charge. You may download the Battery Reset 2.0 software from the Apple Software Updates web site at http://www.apple.com/swupdates .