Battery not showing up or charging

[CalcProgrammer1]

I just purchased a new battery for my ThinkPad laptop. Since IBM is no longer producing ThinkPads, I had to buy a 3rd party replacement. I found a 6600MAh battery that was supposed to be compatible with my laptop. However, when I insert it, the laptop shows "Error" on the battery screen. The battery indicator on the laptop blinks, then goes steady (which means charging) but about 5 to 10 seconds later, starts blinking (I looked in the A21p guide, and it didn't mention blinking yellow when plugged in, so I'm assuming it's an error code). The battery works, because when I unplug the computer, it stays powered on, despite Windows reporting 0% capacity and IBM's utility saying Battery Error.

If it works...why won't my computer charge it!?! If it needs recalibrated, how might I do this (should I drain it until it runs dead and then try?). If it doesn't fix soon I'll try to get a replacement.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I ran it down completely, and then the laptop charges it, but it only charges it to like 5 minutes worth of power and then goes back to showing errors. Windows can't detect the battery power level or anything, but it knows there's a battery.