In this article I present lengthy tips on how to keep your laptop battery healthy and in the long run save costs and frustrations.Please read on.
1. Let the battery discharge completely the first time you use it. When you get a new laptop or just a new battery, plug the computer in and charge the battery fully. Unplug the laptop and run it on battery power until the computer warns you that it's about to run out. This calibrates the battery--essentially "teaching" it how much charge it can hold.2.Avoid frequent charging and discharging. A typical lithium-ion laptop battery has a life of about 300 to 500 charge "cycles," according to researcher Isidor Buchmann of BatteryUniversity.com. Unplugging the computer, running it on battery power for a time and then plugging it back in constitutes one cycle. This does not mean running the battery all the way down each time--Buchmann advises that partial discharges are preferable to full ones in everyday use--but it does mean that it's better to run the laptop unplugged for an hour than to do so for 10 minutes, then plug it in for 5 minutes, then unplug it for 15 minutes, plug it back in for 10, and so on.
3.Allow the battery to fully discharge about once every 30 cycles. This will help recalibrate the battery.
Allow about a 50 percent charge on the battery if you plan to store the laptop for more than six months. Apple Inc. says that long-term storage of a fully discharged battery may render it unable to recharge at all, whereas storing a fully charged battery for an extended period can reduce its capacity.
5.Do not overheat. There is a direct correlation between the temperature at which a battery operates and the degradation of its charging capacity. PC Magazine advises laptop users to avoid operating the computer on soft surfaces that trap heat, such as blankets, upholstery or--somewhat ironically--your lap. Use a lap desk or cooling pad when you have the computer on your lap. If you usually use the computer on a desk, make sure the surface of the desk is free of dust.
6.Turn
off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth - Most laptops have shortcut keys to instantly disable
wireless networking.
7. Don't play computer games, music or DVD movies - Multimedia activities drain laptop batteries.
8. Disconnect all external device like PC Card modems, Firewire, USB devices and optical drives. Use the notebook touchpad instead of an external mouse.
9. Adjust your screen brightness - Dimming your display saves battery power.
10. Tweak Windows Power Options - Choose a Laptop power scheme that turns off the notebook monitor and hard disk after 10 minutes of inactivity.
11. Decrease or mute the Laptop Speaker Volume.
12.. Turn off all scheduled tasks.
13. Turn off Auto-save features in Microsoft Office and other applications.
14. If your PC has a built-in wireless card, turn it off or disable it when not in use.
15. Programs that are run from a CD or DVD can be copied to and run from the hard drive, which typically consumes less power than an optical drive.
17.. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop.
18. Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing temperatures. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer. Hot batteries discharge very quickly, and cold ones can't create as much power.
19. Make sure to plug your laptop charger adapter into a UPS and not directly into a power outlet or surge protector.
20. If you have a nickel-metal hydride battery, completely drain and recharge the battery once a month to maximize its capacity to hold a charge.
21. Fully charge new battery packs before use. New pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.
22.. Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.
Battery-saving sleep modes: should be used, Stand By or Hibernate
Standby mode
Use standby modes to save power when you will be away from the computer for a short time while working - your monitor and hard disks turn off, all applications and open files are stored in RAM. When you want to use the computer again, it comes out of standby quickly, and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.
Hibernation Mode
Use hibernation to save power when you will be away from the computer for an extended time while working - your computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in memory on your hard disk. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored
7. Don't play computer games, music or DVD movies - Multimedia activities drain laptop batteries.
8. Disconnect all external device like PC Card modems, Firewire, USB devices and optical drives. Use the notebook touchpad instead of an external mouse.
9. Adjust your screen brightness - Dimming your display saves battery power.
10. Tweak Windows Power Options - Choose a Laptop power scheme that turns off the notebook monitor and hard disk after 10 minutes of inactivity.
11. Decrease or mute the Laptop Speaker Volume.
12.. Turn off all scheduled tasks.
13. Turn off Auto-save features in Microsoft Office and other applications.
14. If your PC has a built-in wireless card, turn it off or disable it when not in use.
15. Programs that are run from a CD or DVD can be copied to and run from the hard drive, which typically consumes less power than an optical drive.
17.. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop.
18. Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing temperatures. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer. Hot batteries discharge very quickly, and cold ones can't create as much power.
19. Make sure to plug your laptop charger adapter into a UPS and not directly into a power outlet or surge protector.
20. If you have a nickel-metal hydride battery, completely drain and recharge the battery once a month to maximize its capacity to hold a charge.
21. Fully charge new battery packs before use. New pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.
22.. Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.
Battery-saving sleep modes: should be used, Stand By or Hibernate
Standby mode
Use standby modes to save power when you will be away from the computer for a short time while working - your monitor and hard disks turn off, all applications and open files are stored in RAM. When you want to use the computer again, it comes out of standby quickly, and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.
Hibernation Mode
Use hibernation to save power when you will be away from the computer for an extended time while working - your computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in memory on your hard disk. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored
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