Something I forgot to add earlier, here's what happens to the /proc/sys/vm/laptop_mode file when I transit from battery power to AC power.
>tail -f /proc/sys/vm/laptop_mode 5 tail: laptop_mode: file truncated 0 tail: laptop_mode: file truncated 0 tail: laptop_mode: file truncated 2 tail: laptop_mode: file truncated 2 5 is when it's on battery power. When I reattach the AC power, 0 gets written in (good), but then almost immediately 2 gets written in. I hope this helps narrow the problem a little. Cheers, James