Power Policy With Laptop Docking Stations

I use an old Lenovo T60 and like to grumble about its performance. I’m sure the feeling is mutual. I also use a docking station at work. Makes life simpler. Recently, I had a problem with the way it powers the laptop.

The laptop had been docked, but the power supply unplugged due to some neighbourly reasons. When I restarted the laptop, it simply shutdown. When I powered it again, it brusquely answered with a series of flickers across three of its LEDs (power supply, battery life and something else that I don’t remember now) in a most NSFW manner. The laptop won’t start. I had read it as a signal to get a new laptop.

Upon undocking the laptop, going home, and powering it on again, it worked! Was my laptop for once being helpful? Enabling me to idle away my time in the office?

I was naturally suspicious. Upon further investigation, the following has been established: A docked laptop uses the power provided through the docking station while booting and won’t use the battery power. An undocked laptop, and a docked non-booting laptop can use the battery power.

Do you have more light to shed about this issue? Do you think it is a sweeping generalization?