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Laptops are becoming popular as technology expands
into
the future, and it seems that most
households have at LEAST one laptop these days. (
Please try your hardest to forgive me if
you have no laptop at all! )
Laptops are
extremely convenient and handy, BUT - due to the proprietary parts
that are used, and the relatively high cost of replacement
parts, care must be taken in operating and maintaining
these kind of computers.
One
overlooked laptop accessory that can equal the
difference between your computer working and your
computer NOT working is: the BATTERY ! I recently
experienced laptop battery failure, only 6 months after
purchasing my shiny new HP laptop. Can you believe that
my battery died in only SIX months – while
still under warranty? Exactly.....I can't believe it either
!!
If I had known then what I know now,
I would have avoided the frustration of waiting nearly
two months from the time I
shipped my old (dead) battery to HP; to actually receive
the new item ! Luckily, my computer was still
under the factory warranty, or I would have spent a
whopping $119.00 on a new battery! VERY
BAD
.
If your laptop is
used for business, work or school; I am sure you cannot
afford to go without your computer for suchs long
periods of time, as I did. The old adage “an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure”, holds as true as ever - so let’s
explore a few tips to prevent your
laptop battery from dying prematurely:
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1.) When at home or near a
power outlet, plug in your laptop and REMOVE your
battery!
Many people
(including myself until last year), have the habit of
plugging their laptop into the wall, and keeping the
battery attached to the laptop. A laptop battery
is “rechargeable,” and rechargeable batteries have a
limit to the amount of times or hours, that they can be
charged. When your battery remains in your laptop
while it is plugged in, it continues to “charge” and
thus the life of the battery is lowered
significantly. Since your laptop will work with
the power supply attached, without
the battery; this
method is the best way to extend the life of your
laptop’s battery.
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2.) Before you charge your
laptop battery, make sure the battery is VERY
LOW!
Rechargeable
batteries have “cell memory”, which basically means that
your laptop’s battery “remembers” how much power it had
prior to the last charge or use. For example: you
keep your laptop plugged in, and your battery attached –
and only unplug the power adaptor when you decide to
take your laptop with you, outside of the home.
You notice that within 8 months, your laptop
battery gives you the: “recharge now”
warning, but in half of the time that it took
8 months ago. Instead of your battery dying in an hour
and a half, it dies in just 45 minutes
. Three months
later… your battery lasts a mere 30 minutes before the
battery is dead…and so on.
You must allow
your battery to “cycle”; in other words when
you are using the battery in your laptop, keep the
adapter unplugged UNTIL the battery power
is nearly drained (your computer should have an icon or
software that monitors and notifies you when your
battery is low). I would recommend that you keep
an eye on your battery while using your computer, save
all of your important data when the battery gets
very low, and allow the battery to die completely; and
the PC to power itself off. Then, charge the
battery….
(this method is not convenient at all, but
the closer that you can get to practicing this, the
longer your battery will last ! )
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3.)
When charging your battery, stop the
charging process when the battery reaches 100%
!!
I know…it’s
extremely boring monitoring your laptop’s battery status
when it is charging and no one loves doing
this; BUT, if you would like your battery to
work in peak condition, you will put this method into
practice. For example: I used to plug in my
laptop’s battery and allow it to charge for
hours. I started to notice within several
months, that after using my computer for 30 minutes the
“battery extremely low – shutting down now”
warning would pop up; when months ago, I could use my
computer for an hour and a half at least, until the
“battery extremely low…” warning popped up! I decided to let the
computer shut itself off every time; and one day,
I decided to plug the adapter in, turn the PC back
on, and when it booted successfully – I removed the
adapter.
I continued this procedure for a day or
two, then I finally noticed that the more I continue this
“cycling” of the battery, the longer my battery lasted
– until it eventually supplied me with the full 1
½ hour of power. (I hope I didn’t confuse you on that,
if so, please feel free to email me).
I had
inadvertently “cycled” my battery, or
manipulated the memory cells by forcing the cells to
“re-learn” their maximum charge level. To avoid
needing to “cycle” YOUR battery, it is highly
recommended that you monitor your battery’s charging,
and stop charging
it once it reaches 100%. Just as
important as unplugging it at 100%, is draining your
battery completely prior to charging it.
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I hope that you
find this information helpful, and hopefully this
article will help to save you from spending unnecessary
money replacing your laptop battery. A penny saved
is indeed, a penny earned.
Happy Computing!
Jarvis
Edwards - TekTime
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