I have a Dell Inspiron 1200 notebookt that someone loaded a Dell Battery Recalibration tool into

OK first let's clarify once and for all where the recalibration tool has been loaded.
Disconnect the HDD and reboot - does it still get called before an attempt is made to install the operating system?
If yes -> BIOS if not HDD.

If it is in the BIOS then the Dell Client Configuration Utility will enable/disable it even if it is not visible in the BIOS options on your laptop.
Let's cross that bridge when needed...

Hello Oldharleyrider.

You say:
>>> "I have a Dell Inspiron 1200 notebook that someone loaded a Dell Battery Recalibration tool into.  This tool should not have been installed in this notebook." <<<

Then why does it specifically explain how to recalibrate the battery on page 29 of the owner's manual for the Inspiton 1200 and 2200?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2200/en/om/D88330a.pdf

I am not convinced that this is something added by a BIOS Update, nor that it is running from the BIOS.  Perhaps you believe this to be the case because it is popping up at an early "black screen" stage of boot, but a whole lot of processes launch during that stage, and load AFTER the BIOS has done its Power On Self test (POST).

One thing you should take time to look at is your C:\Autoexec.bat file.  No, this file isn't used normally by Windows XP during boot, it is there for compatibility with programs and processes designed for older operating systems such as for Windows 98, and a program being launched from that batch file could well be showing in the manner you describe.

Windows XP does not offer a quick method via the MSCONFIG utility, however the old Win9x SYSEDIT utility should be present for compatibility:
Start menu > Run > and type   SYSEDIT   > press Enter.
The reason I say "should" is because I sometimes use handy older programs in XP.

You can prevent Autoexec.bat from being parsed at boot and logon through REGEDIT by going to the following key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
If you see a REG_SZ value in the Right pane named "parseautoexec", then double-clicking on it and setting its value to 0 (that's a zero) will disable this.  If the value isn't present, then you can create and set it to Zero.
(Note: The Windows XP PowerToy "TweakUI" allows you to do this on a per-user basis using a checkbox in the Logon section).

If the SYSEDIT program isn't on your system, or if you are nervous using REGEDIT (as you always should be if you aren't very experienced using it), then open Autoexec in notepad instead:

Right-Click C:\Autoexec.bat and choose "Edit".  If there are any lines in there at all, then add REM plus a space in front of each new line and then Save the file.  It shouldn't be Read-Only, so you should be able to save it fine, but it is hidden, so you would have to open your Folder Properties > View tab and ensure that it is set to display hidden files.

OK, so supposing you don't have any entries in Autoexec.bat.  Open MSCONFIG from the Start Menu's Run field and look under the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI tabs for any indication of programs running in a "DOS" stage.  Those files are used to create settings for older programs to provide compatibility, and you can also tell Windows not to parse them at boot under the "General" tab of MSCONFIG.

While you are at it, inspect C:\CONFIG.SYS using the following command from the Start Menu's Run field:

notepad c:\config.sys

To Remark Out lines in that file, place a semicolon at the start of the line and save the file.

There are 2 other "NT" equivalents of Autoexec.bat and Config.sys that are worth looking at:

notepad %SystemRoot%\System32\autoexec.nt
notepad %SystemRoot%\System32\config.nt

Autoexec.nt comes as a template in Windows XP with ALL lines already REM's out.  Remark out any lines using REM in config.nt other than these standard lines that will already be there, although it wouldn't normally matter even if you did REM out those 3 lines):

dos=high, umb
device=%SystemRoot%\system32\himem.sys
files=40

OK, so you have failed thus far to find out where the Battery Recondition prompt is being launched.

Look in your C: Drive for the folders where driver and software packages for Dell products are normally unpacked to folders with names like these:
C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R20542
Go into each of those folders, Right-Click the setup packages, or open *.INF files in Notepad, and see if any of them are related to a battery Reconditioning program.

The presence of the following files is a dead giveaway that someone has installed such a program:  BATRECAL.EXE, Batrcal.com, DE729821.EXE, i75brca0.exe.

Any of these should be listed in your Control panel > Add/Remove Programs.

In fact, do a search for files named "BATR*CAL.*" on your hard drive and see what it finds.  If it finds a file matching that name, then open REGEDIT and do a search for occurrences of the actual file name, and also search for files CONTAINING the text matching the file's actual name.

It is possible also that the battery calibration program is running as a Service.
Start > Run > and type    services.ms /s    > click OK or press Enter.
Click through each service listed and look at the descriptions.  If you find one that clearly is the offending program, then double-click it and set its startup to "Manual".  Close Services and Reboot.  If it still runs, then change it to "Disabled" and reboot.  If that works, then either leave it as it is or investigate further in Add/Remove Programs to see what installed the service.

I would say that it is entirely probable that this program was installed with the "Dell Notebook System Software" if you downloaded and installed the available software from the Dell site.

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=INSPIRON%201200&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=

You will have been aware from the Dell site that you are not alone in this problem.  Other users of the Inspiron 1200 have reported the same issue, but chose to ask it in the comunity forums:

Searching for issue with Inspiron 1200 in search terms:
http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?k=inspiron+1200+battery+recalibration&rf=all&cat=sup&s=gen&c=us&l=en&subcat=&evl=

Searching for issue with no system specified:
http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?k=battery+recalibration&rf=all&cat=sup&s=gen&c=us&l=en&subcat=&evl=

In forums you don't get qualified answers, although you may not necessarily get a qualified answer from Dell Support either if you end up on the phone with one of their First Line operatives.  I would urge you to nevertheless create a support ticket and see what suggestions they make.

Let's be VERY clear on the exact method you tried to make this go away, and look at the specific instructions.  I'm not trying to make you out to be a dummy, but let's be sure of facts.

The "calibration" utility is NOT intended as the means to tell you how much battery power is left.  It is intended to set thresholds of a completely dead battery and the same battery fully charged, so that the battery status indicator is accurately reflecting how much of the battery's capacity remains.

Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) rechargeable batteries have what's called a "memory", where if a battery is "topped up" rather than being fully discharged and recharged every so often, the charge capacity is remembered as being the amount it was topped up by.  Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries do not suffer from this "memory" imprint, however it is still recommended that you fully discharge and recharge every so often.  Given that this battery "recalibration" utility has been around since Windows 98 and NT when NiCD and Nickel metal Hydride (NiMh) batteries were common, then that is clearly what it was designed to address.

It should be noted that Dell specify, in quite a number of their support pages for laptops like yours with Li-Ion batteries:
"The lithium ion battery has a life span of up to 500 full charges if it is charged at normal room temperature."
That's not very many charges at all, especially if you regularly use the laptop with the battery in it but from the power adapter, but remember that they are specifying FULL charges.

Amongst the Dell Latitude LM (I know, you have an Inspiron) support articles, I found this question:
"Do I Need to Discharge the Battery in My Latitude LM to Prevent Battery Memory?"
Paraphrased, the answer is this:
Yes for NiCd, No for Li-ion, but recommended for Li-ion when prompted.
If you are still getting unexpectedly short run-time from the battery, download and run the BATRECAL.EXE program to force a recalibration.

Now, the program to which such support pages are directed are to a version that is compatible with MS-DOS through to Windows 98, and is quoted as being for the Inspiron 3000, 3200 and Latitude LM systems:
http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?releaseid=R19539&fileid=19354
Dell Battery Calibration, v. 1.0, A01
http://ftp.us.dell.com/utility/BATRECAL.EXE

Note: The "Batrecal.exe" file above is intended for creating a bootable floppy disk only.  It is not inconceivable that the "someone" you referred to has somehow installed this to the root of the hard drive in such a way that the autoexec.bat is running it at boot, hence the suggestions earlier.

There is another version (albeit seemingly with the same "version" number) for the Inspiron 7500):
Dell Battery Calibration Utility, v. 1.0, A01 [Version A00]
http://ftp.us.dell.com/utility/i75brca0.exe
It unpacks to the folder c:\dell\drivers\batrcal when run, and this contains the file "Batrcal.com" that is run from a "DOS" prompt and starts the calibration without much or any indication that the program has executed anything.

Your Dell Notebook System Software, Release Date: 4/28/2005, Version: 3.11.0, A18 is downloadable from:
http://ftp.us.dell.com/utility/R96945.EXE
and this unpacks to C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R20542 from where it installs.
It contains a load of Windows Updates and patches, but  cannot see if it installs the Battery Recalibration Utility.

It is also possible that whatever version of the "Dell Diagnostics" installed the Utility.

The Dell Inspiron 1200 Series BIOS (A06, Build Date 09/28/2005) added "support for Battery Health Meter(BHM)", but I'm not sure if that "support" may actually interfere with a Battery Recalibration Utility.  Your latest BIOS version is (as mentioned by someone earlier): A07, Build Date: 12/01/2005.

It is also possible that our Chipset Software may clash with a ow-level utility such as the Battery Recalibration Utility.  The latest version of the Chipset software from Dell is:  Intel Mobile Chipset, Release Date: 3/7/2005, Version: 6.1.0.1008, A07
http://ftp.us.dell.com/chipset/R86238.EXE

So, back to the exact instructions for Recalibrating:

1. Attach the AC adapter to the computer and leave the computer on to let the battery recalibrate overnight.

2. The MAIN battery will be completely discharged during the process.

3. The main-battery activity indicator in the status display panel blinks and the bars on the battery status indicator change to show the changes in the batterys charge level.

4. When recalibration is completed, the main-battery activity indicator stops blinking and the AC adapter recharges the battery.

This can take 10 or more hours to complete.

Is this exactly what you have done?
If not, then I suggest that you do so.

Some links for you:

User Manual:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2200/en/om/D88330a.pdf

Online Service Manual in HTML format:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2200/en/index.htm

Service Manual in HTML format in self-extracting archive, run Index.html once unpacked:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins2200/en/SM/Sm.exe

My suspicion is that your main battery is dying, or that "someone" has installed an older version of the Recalibration Utility.

I think oldHarleyRider is justifiably pissed off.

On my Latitude 620 BIOS there is a setting for battery and another one for POST warnings.

What OldHarlyRider is getting sounds like a "POST warning". This is a setting a little lower down on the menu. POST means "Power On Self Test". It should be possible to disable it by pressing [F2] while the laptop and going into the BIOS then "saving" the setting.

Since you reinstalled windows on a new hard disk I think power management and anything in the control panel are false leads. The solution is in the BIOS settings or possibly battery replacement if there is no bios setting. The Dell BIOS is long and you have to open each section to read the options in there. The explanations are pretty decent but if you don't know the terminology its sometime hard to choose. It's tempting to switch to "BIOS Defaults" but the default may be to turn on the warning you want off (so it doesn't confuse your grandson).

Replacing the battery is also an option. Some places sell replacement batteries that are reasonable in cost. The "smart" electronics in batteries can easily cause problems.

As for browsing your BIOS, this is possible by going into the command prompt mode "Run cmd" and then running the DEBUG.EXE program that comes with windows. In XP and Vista you can't save, but with Windows 98 you can write direct to the bios chip. This is called "poking" and there are posts on Experts Exhange that have the poke addresses to reset your bios password, for example. If you find the code that jumps into the battery check you could chang it into "NoOperation" which would disable it. Unfortunately, I don't know the address for your bios.