[iBook] Battery/Charger problem

[Brian Olesky]

My wife has a dual USB, 600, about 5 years old. About a year ago, we
purchased a new battery from Other World Computing, and now, 14 months later
(2 months past warranty), it's pretty much dead. If you get 10 minutes
you're lucky.

However, I don't think the battery was the problem. I think it's the power
adapter. When plugged in, sometimes it works, but often it loses its
connection, and stops charging. This has been happening for over a year, and
just before its Applecare warranty expired I tried to get Apple to replace
it but they refused, saying it's just "normal wear and tear."

Therefore, I suspect what may have happened is that this constant
"connection/no connection" mode may have caused the battery to constantly
charge and discharge so many times that it was the equivalent of about 3
years normal recharging in just one, and now it's near dead.

So my question is--is this a reasonable theory? Has anyone else run into
this? Does it mean we should purchase both a new adapter cord and another
new battery? (Pretty expensive). Are these cords available somewhere at a
lower cost than from Apple?