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Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:17 pm
by annabel
It's okay, I'll just shoosh

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:16 pm
by SpotTheCat
LicketySplit wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:

@mods: this stuff probably needs a split?



Meh...dont see why.

I say split this out too. annabel is such a troublemaker.
E
very laptop I have seen with three battery options have these traits.

* The middle battery is the one designed to fill the entire space alloted by the laptop design.
* The smallest battery is the same container as the middle battery, but some cells missing.
* The largest battery has a lump that extends behind, down, or both to accommodate the extra cells. This is a catch-22 if you're traveling. One side you get more battery life, the other it is less portable.

I prefer the largest battery that fits with the standard configuration. Definatly avoid the small ones that are the same packs with fewer cells.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:24 pm
by annabel
I am not a trouble maker!

Right middle battery.

Can you pick the rest of the stuff for me too please? >.>

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 2:58 pm
by flip-mode
Wow, I started this thread almost 4 years ago! Staying power for the win, yeah!

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 11:45 am
by SpotTheCat
I just found an awesome way to save my battery! It's too bad I didn't know about this a year ago :-/

I found in my vaio utilities that there is a battery saver function that only charges to 80% capacity. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:10 pm
by Looking for Knowledge
There has to be a better solution to this.....

I bought my Dell back in 2004. The first battery lasted until Oct. 2008. I convinced Dell to send me a replacement, and seven months later the new one is not holding a charge. :evil:

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:34 am
by digby
I bought an old Toshiba Tecra 8100, I only use it to surf the net. My problem is the battery, it is showing fully charged but when I attempt to use it, it lasts about a minute and a half before I get the warning to look for an alternate source of power. After I plug the computer back into the main power source the battery light will show the amber color like it is charging but after about 4 minutes it is back to green indicating full charge.
I don't know how to discharge the battery other than letting the computer run, but I can't get it to run because I have to switch to A/C. So I am unsure if the battery is junk or if there is just something I am missing.
I have cleaned the terminals but still no difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 6:44 am
by YeuEmMaiMai
1. all modern laptops will automatically stop charging when the battery is full and there is no reason to remove it from the machine
2. putting the battery in the fridge is bad especially in high humidity areas

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 9:55 am
by flip-mode
YeuEmMaiMai wrote:
1. all modern laptops will automatically stop charging when the battery is full and there is no reason to remove it from the machine
2. putting the battery in the fridge is bad especially in high humidity areas

Necro much? Anyway, I'm sure even very old laptops had features to stop charging the battery once it was full. As for fridge storage, I don't know how big a deal that is. I've never done it. I know there are steps you can take against humidity, such as using a zip-lock back with all the air pressed out, and letting the component warm in that bag when you remove it from the fridge. But again, I've never bothered to put my batter in the fridge and I think I never will. I'm not sure this was worth a necro 8)

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:03 pm
by finegel
Being cold slows down the reactions that generate power in all batteries. This actually has the effect of slightly extending the individual charge of a battery stored in a fridge, but does so by making it produce less electricity at once, so the laptop will not run efficently.

You likewise don't want to store your batterys in your tanning bed. Heat will shorten your battery life and make you need to get a new one sooner.

Humidity is only a problem when it's cool enough for condencsation to form. I don't think anyone needs to be told why a wet battery is a bad thing.

For example: Florida can be humid, but also warm, so not too much danger.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:13 pm
by grantmeaname
finegel wrote:
by making it produce less electricity at once, so the laptop will not run efficently.


I think this doesn't work how you think it does.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:26 pm
by Jiethy
So if I use a netbook (Samsung NC210) almost all day long and the battery is often empty when I get home, is it bad for the battery? Do I need to charge it when it gets to 40%, not when it's already expired? I think these tips are rather hard to apply in reality :(

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:19 pm
by ludi
Jiethy wrote:
So if I use a netbook (Samsung NC210) almost all day long and the battery is often empty when I get home, is it bad for the battery? Do I need to charge it when it gets to 40%, not when it's already expired? I think these tips are rather hard to apply in reality :(

If it's working for you the way you need it to work, then that's the most important thing, and you'll just need to budget for a replacement battery eventually. (In fact, you might do well to buy that extra battery now, while it's still easy to get, and then just swap batteries every week in order to share the wear-out evenly.)

Mainly, you just want to avoid abusing the battery when you don't have to.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:39 am
by adam_davies
Hello there, thanks for the info.

My problem is that I do it ALL and I always end up damaging my laptops batteries. First I had an HP Pavilion and then a Mini Laptop ACER!

I don't know if maybe it has something to do with the electricity in my house or that I don't use a voltage regulator, please help me. Maybe is just that I had bad luck and buy the wrong brands :(

Thanks in advance for any recommendations :D

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 1:30 am
by rado992
Holy mother of necro threads! :D Just kidding, of course, welcome to the TR Forums. ;) First of all, I wouldn't worry about the AC voltage in your house damaging your batteries. The charger usually does a good enough job filtering any spikes/dips in voltage to protect the laptop itself. In most cases of dangerously high voltage, the charger will go first as it is considerably cheaper to replace than the mobo on your laptop.

I can only speak from my experience here, but what I've noticed is that the slower you discharge the battery, the better it will keep its designed capacity. Likewise, if you quickly drain the battery by loading the laptop, it will deteriorate after significantly less cycles. Another thing I've noticed is that it is not detrimental to the battery to charge it before it completely drains or remove the charger before it's completely charged - this is because lithium cells don't suffer from "memory effect". What's more, if you don't discharge the battery all the way to 0% every time, you can significantly prolong its life. Some say that not charging it past 80% or so can do the same, but in my experience that's too much of a hassle to be convenient. I monitor my laptop batteries pretty much constantly and in the last year or so, neither one of the three I currently use has lost any significant charge capacity (or real runtime, for that matter) by following these routines.

So in summation: things to avoid subjecting your battery to:

1. High temperatures/direct sunlight (as it stresses the cells unnecessarily). This includes avoiding putting the laptop in bed or on a couch for extended period of time as it heats up.

2. Quick discharges. Use power saving mode, adjust your display brightness as low as you feel comfortable with according to surrounding light. Also avoid any applications that stress your system unless you really need to use them. You can monitor CPU load in Task Manager.

3. Draining it all the way to 0% every time. This is why Windows 7 hibernates at 7% remaining capacity and it cannot be set lower than 5% without registry hacks. I prefer not going under 20% if i don't need the juice urgently. However, a full discharge once in a while (monthly, for example) is recommended so that the electronics in your battery can adjust itself to the state of the cells (calibration).

4. Keeping it in the laptop if you don't plan to use it on battery for more than a month. This is not as bad as the other three, but it keeps it charged at 100% all the time and the laptop heats it up when under load.

5. Keeping the battery at 0% for long periods of time. This is absolutely prohibited as self-discharge of the cells can lower their voltage below a safe minimum under which these cells will not be charged by the electronics, in effect killing your battery.

EDIT: A helpful link I stumbled upon which explains in great detail what damages lithium cells: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... _batteries

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:27 am
by C-A_99
Honestly, not a bad thread to necro considering how little has changed. Problem is, these days, most batteries are a good part of the laptop, where the laptop's handling gets VERY annoying without the battery present. I wish laptops came with some sort of battery "dummy" that fills in the space. My ASUS A53SV-NH51 looks and handles (when carrying) ridiculously without it.

My previous laptop was a Compaq Presario CQ-60. After just 2 and a half years, the battery was considered malfunctioned, despite taking care of it well and removing it when plugged in. I think the amount of heat from the Athlon X2 did that, although it could've just been a BIOS issue. Usually, batteries just keep working, just unable to retain a charge for very long even when not being used.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:57 pm
by Dimscene
flip-mode wrote:

the basics:
remove battery when lappy is connected to the mains
store battery at 40% charge and in the refridgerator if possible (do not store in freezer)
fully discharge the battery after every 30 charges to calibrate the charge meter
lithium-ion does not have a charge memory
if possible, don't buy two batteries, but wait till the first one dies and then buy another
don't buy old stock, even if discounted
expected life of a lithium-ion battery is 2-3 years



I used to do all those, but then I got lazy. It did help keep my battery as fresh as possible by keeping it in the basement. Eventually these batteries will die, so w.e. Battery technology will advance and we wont have to worry about this, haha.

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:42 pm
by Arvald
Wow... necro-thread revival!
Biggest thing here is look at your battery tech.

different battery types and implementations respond differently.

I have had old Ni-cads revived by long discharge/ charge cycles.
Modern Li-On batteries seem to have maximum cycle counts that only count a full discharge/recharge cycle.

Things like this change over time... research your tech each time you buy!

Re: The laptop battery guide

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 12:17 pm
by evelinchamplin034
I remember learning more about laptop batteries after my friend taught me about crypto trading over at learncrypto.com. both were important, to be honest. Everyday, I use my laptop to work and I usually leave it plugged for hours. As far as I have learned, it is actually not that good to do that since it may have a lasting effect on the laptop battery. that part is really important since it powers our laptop. As much as we can use the laptop by plugging it in like a computer and without the battery, it's still not the same. So always be careful.