New iBook battery?

So, I bought an iBook G4 a few days ago. I should've asked more questions about it before buying it, but it was only listed for 50 dollars on Craigslist so I jumped at the opportunity (it's rare that I have any cash or money!). Came with all the software discs, the charger, etc. I tried powering it on once I got it, and I assumed it was dead.

I went to a nearby Starbucks (this is my first Apple laptop, I have an iPod but I've been dying for an iBook, powerbook, Macbook, anything!) and plugged it in. It worked, powered on fine. The date was set to like 1969, and everytime I restarted after doing software updates, I needed to change the date again, which has been consistent for the past few days. It wasn't really charging, either. And it doesn't charge. If it's not plugged in, it doesn't power on.

Well, tonight, I restarted it because I'd done some more software updates. It's currently running 10.4.11, and I'm going to purchase 10.5 soon and upgrade it. But, when I restarted, it came up with this weird message, asking me to type in mac-boot if I wanted to continue powering on, something failed.

So it took me to my desktop but I noticed my photo wasn't set as my desktop. All my files are gone, my photos downloads etc. The music I loaded on from several CDs is thankfully still there, and a few programs I downloaded. On the battery, it showed an X.

I turned it off, took the battery out and placed it back in... now it's saying the battery is 10%, which is the highest it's ever been for me!

So, I'm almost positive I need a new battery. Before I even bother purchasing Leopard, I'll definitely be looking into a battery.

I really don't want to be spending that much money, I'm thinking 40 dollars at the MOST, do you think that's a long shot finding an iBook G4 12" A1061/A1054 (on the battery it says A1061, on the actual back of the laptop it says A1054) battery for that price?

Or if anybody has one they'd be willing to sell me for around that price please let me know. I probably still would've bought the iBook if I'd known about the batteries, it's a decent price, but it would have been nice to know about these issues beforehand!

Thanks a lot!

Also, whenever I start up the computer as of tonight I get this message that says CAN'T OPEN cd\tbxi I think that's it. I don't have a CD in? Sorry, I'm completely new to Macs, before I only knew how to navigate through one and I'm quickly learning new things. Thanks.

You can buy the battery from the apple store.. Or a used one a guess, but then you have no guarantee it has been used the right way, and wont go empty after half an hour or so.. i have bought "fake" batteries and chargers on ebay from china i think, but would really NOT recommend the cheaper stuff, as it made my charger explode! considering you paid 50 for the ibook, which is quite a bargain, even if you spend 70-80 (dont know the prices here) on a proper battery, it will still be a super cheap laptop.

I had bought a new battery quite some time ago at FastMac | Performance Upgrades. They are "after market" and even have longer run time (more capacity) than the original Apple ones. I'm very happy with the one I bought there a few years ago.