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How To Look After Your Laptop Batteries
By: Robert Pierre
Most laptop owners neglect to look after the batteries resulting in impaired functionality and utility of the laptop when they are relying upon them. Looking after the laptop's batteries makes good sense and only requires a minor alteration in user behavior and maintenance practice to prolong not only battery life but also to make sure the laptop functions when needed.
Laptop owners frequently omit to read and care for laptop batteries and make two very simple mistakes. In the first instance they use the laptop battery power in continuous conjunction with the AC power supply. Eventually they find the laptop will not power up when they come to use it. The second instance is to use battery power with no regard to the effect of repeatedly discharging the battery only partially.
So you come to power up your laptop and nothing happens, what do you do? Try removing the battery from the laptop and then power on with AC supply only and if it works then you know you have an issue with the battery. A simple purge of the battery will usually suffice to correct this problem. More on that later.
Failing to discharge your laptop battery completely will affect your battery life when you come to use the laptop on battery power only, typically when you are mobile. The issue is that the less you discharge the stored power in the battery when you are using it, the less it will take a recharge. This phenomenon is known as "memory" and results in battery "fade", that is where the battery has learned by partial displacement of it's charge that it needs only a lower charge and hence it's use becomes restricted.
Many laptop users complain about how their battery does not power their laptop for very long when they are relying solely on battery power. These two issues are the primary reasons why this occurs, so how can you avoid falling into these pitfalls and start caring for laptop batteries to get the best performance out of them?
Here are a couple of tips to help you get the most out of your laptop battery and maintain laptop utility. First check whether you have Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries or the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) type, and take some time to read the manufacturers instructions for caring for them.
The first maintenance procedure is to allow the laptop to be powered only by the battery itself, so disconnect the AC power supply and allow the laptop to discharge until you get a "battery low" warning. Reconnect the AC power to the unit and leave it for 12 hours so the battery can regain its charge. Check the manufacturers instructions for the length of time that they recommend for a recharge, but typically 12 hours is sufficient to perform this adequately.
The second thing you can do is to purge the battery as we have mentioned before. Purging is where you allow the laptop to completely discharge the battery until the unit powers off completely. You do not connect the AC power supply until the unit has completely powered off and to ensure a full discharge you should disable the hibernation or any power supply sleep management function that the laptop has. Once the laptop has powered off, reconnect the AC power supply but do not switch the laptop on. Leave the laptop like this for 24 hours and repeat this process every month for NiCad batteries and every 3 months for NiMH.
Following these two very simple procedures will prolong the life and utility of your laptop battery. If you intend to use your laptop while mobile, invest in 5 minutes to read and follow the manufaturers battery care instructions. Remember, laptop batteries are expensive to replace but so is losing use of your laptop when you need it, as well as the possible loss of work due to the battery failing. Looking after the laptop battery will enhance your user experience and functionality of the laptop with little real effort on your part.
Article Source: http://www.ezarticles.info
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