How prolong the battery life of your laptop

You can make your laptop run longer on its battery by turning off or reduce all the things that expend power in your computer. If 

Steps

1. 1
   Switch off the wireless card if you do not plan to access your network or Internet connection. For Mac laptops, there is a button for powering on and off your wireless device is found on the toolbar at top.
2. 2
   Turn the volume level down, or mute it, if you do not plan to use it.
3. 3
   Reduce the LCD's brightness level. If you use your laptop in a well lit area or outdoors on a sunny day, try setting it at two or three bars.
4. 4
   Disable Bluetooth. If you don't use this device, you can safely disable it to avoid draining your laptop's battery.
5. 5
   Learn to single-task. PC memory that is in-use takes more power to hold data. Also, using more memory might mean using more swap or virtual memory space on your laptop's hard drive. All of this puts an additional drain on your laptop's battery. Instead of leaving multiple applications and windows open, use only what you need at any given time. If your laptop has plenty of memory, then keep multiple applications open to avoid loading repeatedly from the hard drive. Close all the applications that run in the background on your computer like your PDA syncing software or USB hard drive backup software.
6. 6
   Run simple applications that don't use much RAM, disk drive or processing power. Need to write a letter? Use a basic text editor rather than the processor and RAM heavy Microsoft Word. Graphics heavy applications like games or movie watching are especially hard on the battery.
7. 7
   Avoid extreme temperatures. Batteries rely on basic chemistry and will die faster at extreme temperatures. Try to charge and use the battery at room temperatures.^[1]
8. 8
   Use the power management settings on your computer that come built in. On Windows XP, click "Power Options" in your control panel. On a Mac, look for "Energy Saver" in System Preferences.
9. 9
   Unplug external devices such as a USB mouse or an external drive.
10. 10
    Shut down or hibernate the laptop rather than using standby, if you plan on not using it for a while. Standby continues to drain energy to keep your laptop ready to go when you open the cover.
11. 11
    

     Clean the contacts
    Clean your battery contacts. Clean the battery's metal contacts with rubbing alcohol on a damp cloth. Clean contacts increase the energy efficiency. ^[2]
12. 12
    Keep the battery fresh. Batteries leak power if they aren't used fairly soon after charging. If you use your "full" battery 2 weeks after you last charged it, you may discover it is empty.
13. 13
    Defrag your hard drive. The more fragmented your hard drive is the more your hard disk needs to work.^[3]
14. 14
    Avoid using a CD or DVD. If you store a copy of data you need on an optical disc, copy it to your laptop's hard drive or a thumb drive before traveling. Optical drives consume large amounts of power to spin up CDs and DVDs. Try to avoid applications that keep your hard drive or optical drive spinning. Need to play music? Try to use your handheld MP3 player, rather than playing songs on your computer. Playing songs on your computer will keep the hard drive working which uses energy. Turn off the auto save feature on MS Word or Excel. Constant saving will keep your hard drive turning and using energy.
15. 15
    Turn off ports. Disabling unused ports and components, such as VGA, Ethernet, PCMCIA, USB, and yes, your wireless, too. You can do this through the Device Manager or by configuring a separate hardware profile (see next step).
16. 16
    Create Power-Saving Hardware Profiles. Configure your laptop for the various scenarios in which you use it (on a plane, at the coffee shop, at the office, and so on). You can do this through the Hardware Profiles menu by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Preferences or by using a freeware utility such as SparkleXP.
17. 17
    Use a cooling pad when using a notebook computer on your lap. But if it's a USB pad then don't use it as it will most likely use up more battery rather than to conserve it.
18. 18
    Avoid propping your laptop on a pillow, blanket, or other soft surface that can heat up.
19. 19
    If your laptop has an OLED based display then avoid displaying white images. OLED screens consume a lot less power displaying black.
20. 20
    Avoid many games and other applications. Games that use up lots of graphics and applications that keep contacting the internet server sending information back and forth
21. 21
    If your not using a internet browser, CLOSE IT! Even if your not using it the internet is still running in the background getting lots of information.

External Devices

1. 1
   Eject the external devices like pen drive, DVD, Hard Disk etc. if not in use

Use Expose

1. 1
   Mac offers expose to switch off the display temporarily. Use that whenever you are playing mp3 songs and not using the display, or going out for short duration

2. ips

   • Clean your desk. It sounds strange, but if you have a dusty, dirty desk, that dust will get into the vents and clog the cooling fan. Once the dust is inside your laptop, it is much harder to remove. You can try blasting it out with canned air, but you run the risk of damaging internal components. You can also remove the vent and clean out the grit, but remember that taking apart your laptop can void the warranty. So clean your desk at least once a week, if not daily.
   • Be sure to charge up completely before you leave the house if there is no place to charge it where you are going.
   • Take a break if your battery is running low.
   • Don't turn off a device if you're using it.
   • Use the battery till it's low before you charge it and when its charged un-plug it and your battery will last longer plus give better performance.

   EditWarnings

   • If you use your computer for too long, it could overheat and slowly damage components (shorten their lifespan).
   • If you are working on the Internet and using the laptop, do not turn anything off or you will lose your work.
   • Be careful when charging your battery. Never hook it up to charge it when you're not around. With the plethora of battery recalls due to exploding and combustible Li-Ion cells, the process of charging your laptop's battery shouldn't be taken lightly.
   • Be careful when cleaning the contacts. Always clean them when the battery is fully drained, and use a very slightly damp cloth, so as to avoid electric shock and short-circuits.

   • Sources and Citations

     1. ↑ Microsoft.com - 4 tips to extend life of your laptop battery
     2. ↑ http://www.friedbeef.com/2007/07/01/top-15-ways-to-extend-your-laptop-battery-life/
     3. ↑ http://www.friedbeef.com/2007/07/01/top-15-ways-to-extend-your-laptop-battery-life/

     Article Info

     Categories: Laptop Batteries

     Recent edits by: GeGeGeLL, Hajo Joseph, MA

     
     

     
     

     article resource http://www.wikihow.com/Extend-Laptop-Battery-Life

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