Lenovo plugged in, not charging battery--SOLVED!

Warm greetings from Amoy!

Many folks in China, like me, have a Lenovo, and I love my  X220T Tablet--especially writing on the screen for class lectures, rather than using blackboards or PPT.  But I've been frustrated with various Lenovo issues (some software, and two hard drives went out within a year--I wonder if they buy them used?)

Today, the Lenovo decided to quit charging the battery!  I knew the battery was fine (this is a new Lenovo), and the charger was fine.  The PC said the battery health was good--but no charging, and it was down to 9%.  I was so frustrated at Lenovo--and then found out it is Microsoft's fault--a problem with Windows 7 that has been around for two years, at least!  Why could Microsoft not have fixed it by now?

Fortunately, after searching the internet, and trying many things, I found the solution on Jeffrey Palermo's blog--though I will add a step or two he left out (assuming we knew too much).

These are Jeffrey Palermo's steps--with just my note to make one part easier):

1.  Disconnect the A/C power supply.
2.  Shut down the computer.
3.  Remove the battery
4.  Connect the A/C power supply
5.  Start the computer.
6.  Under Battery... (here's the problem, Jeff--where is "battery?" I searched, and finally remembered it is under Control Panel, then System, then Device Driver, then Battery)
7.  Click on Battery (at the top), and then right click on all entries that say Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery, and select uninstall.
8. Shut the computer down.
9. Disconnect the A/C power supply.
10. Insert the battery.
11. Insert the A/C power supply.
12. Start the computer.
13.  It should be fixed--thanks to Jeffrey Palermo!   Visit his blog to read what others have experienced, and solutions for those with Samsung computers, etc.

And my apologies to Lenovo for not giving them the benefit of the doubt.  Let's just hope Microsoft gets there act together.  I've no idea how they can roll out Windows 8 when 7 still has so many bugbears (After two years, I still cannot play simple MP3 files with Windows 7 Professional Multimedia Player--network errors, it says, though the network is completely disconnected.  And to think I paid extra for that.... ).

Enjoy Amoy

Dr. Bill

Bill's 2 eBooks on Amazon:

"Discover Xiamen" 

"Fujian Adventure"

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Tax Return -- IRS rate for converting CNY to USD

Ahoy from Amoy (historic Xiamen, China).

It's tax time again, and this time I did not just guess at the official currency exchange rate when trying to figure out how much I'd earned here in Xiamen, China, and how much taxes I'd paid.  I Googled--and found that the IRS has a tax table for the major currencies of the world, going back for several years. In 2016, it is 1USD = 6.489 CNY.

And the IRS' figure worked to my advantage--much better than what I would have guessed the rate would have been.  Though they say that if you were paid throughout the year in the foreign currency, they'll give you a bit of leeway if you do the rate yourself.

Anyway--if you want to know the official internal revenue service currency exchange rate for your tax return, try this link for IRS Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates!

By the way, whenever I seek IRS info, I get hundreds of links that are not IRS--and they can be quite tricky.  I've found, after decades in Xiamen, that it is safest to go direct to the IRS -- or some firm that is very reputable, such as H&R Block.  Whenever I've been really stuck, I've just phoned (or Skyped) IRS, and found them to be very helpful and patient.  The last one I spoke to told me that frankly, he did not know, but he searched while he had me online--a full 20 minutes, and was extremely helpful.  It was a good reminder for me that, while I might hate the idea of paying taxes, the people that work there are people!

And as a Chinese friend here said to me, the great thing about paying income tax is that you have an income to tax.

With today's economy as it is (30% unemployment in our hometown of Reedley, California), that is certainly the truth.

Enjoy Amoy!


Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Norton Identify Safe Auto Fill in Problem Solved

I rely heavily on Norton Internet Security's automatic fill in because, living in China, I do everything online.  But when I upgrade to 2012 from 2011, the Identity Safe automatic fill in quit working.  I searched the internet, read numerous official and unofficial solutions--including the one about updating Norton internet security several times, rebooting each time. Nothing worked.

But it works now and the solution came to me courtesy of a Firefox reminder.  Somehow, I had disabled the Norton Add-on and toolbar on Firefox.  I enabled it, closed and reopened Firefox, and it works like a charm.  So if you face this problem too--try the toolbar and add-ons.

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com