[GTALUG] speaking of iOS device recovery

I have an annoying problem with my first generation iPad. (The device is worth so little these days that I've not put a lot of effort into this. Without updates, an iDevice is mostly useless.) When I plug it in to the charger and power the device on, it goes into a boot loop. Apparently the battery is so flat that the device cannot boot, even when the charger is connected! There is no obvious way to say: calm down, just go to sleep for a while.