ipaq battery not charging.. advice please.

Hi All, I was given an ipaq h3000 recently and spent yesterday getting familiar with it. Before i went to bed i put it on the cradle and the light began flashing. This morning i think the light was on but not flashing, i assume this means its charged? Anyway, when i turned it on in the cradle it worked but the moment i took it out of the cradle it turned off and wouldnt turn back on again unless it was in the cradle. I looked at the battery status and at first it had no bar to show me the charge level then on looking again it showed it almost complete. Now when i put it on the cradle the light flashes 6 times then goes out. Does this mean i have a faulty cradle or battery or is it something to do with the settings? Does the 6 flashes signify anything? I really am a novice here and need help badly. It was only yesterday that i realised what a pocket pc actually was!

Any replies/ help gratefully recieved!!

Debby.