15 ways to increase your Laptop battery life

[shine_on]

Avoid tethering yourself to a power outlet when you're on-the-go with your laptop with weblog Friedbeef's 15 tips for extending your laptop's battery life. Some of the tips are obvious (like dimming your screen) while others are more unusual, like:

1. Defrag regularly - The faster your hard drive does its work - less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly.
I can't imagine the defrag tip making that much of a difference in battery life, but since you already set up an automated defrag, this should be an easy tip to follow. Most of the other tips involve smart power economy, like quitting running programs and disabling hardware you aren't using. If you do much work unplugged, following a few of these tips could help improve your battery life significantly.

link

 

[Pietje]

Hmm this seems interesting, will keep my laptops battery from running out so quick aswell. (I get 1 hour and 30 minutes tops)

 

[unrelenting]

Hmm this seems interesting, will keep my laptops battery from running out so quick aswell. (I get 1 hour and 30 minutes tops)

That's twice as long as I get. I have tried everything and I can't get it to last more than 1 hour. It's an older laptop, an HP zd7000, but you'd think it would last longer than an hour just web browsing.

 

[tasos1234]

Thats a really nice suggestions man...
my lap battery hold for 30min tops ! i think i need to buy a new batt...but the comp is old so...and you talk about the defrag but its not everything actually evey visual memory take's you from your batt life so...

 

[smilekev]

Most of the ways are obvious, but some of them are completely new to me.
Defragment is one I've never noticed.
Thanks man

 

[africana750]

i have tried many tips and programs but nothing good happens thanks any way

 

[indication]

1. Power down all nonessential functions. Switch it off if you're not using it. Many business travelers already know that you don't want to take the DVD player for a spin on the plane, and that every time you hit "save" it can set the hard-drive whirring, which devours even more power. "But users often also forget to turn off their wireless card when they are no longer using it but are still using their computer," notes Mike Fuller, executive vice president of PC Laptops, a Sandy, Utah, laptop manufacturer. "When the wireless card is on, it still continually searches for networks." In Windows XP, click on "Power Options" in your control panel. It allows you to reduce the power consumption of any number of your computer devices or of your entire system.

2. Stay out of extreme temperatures. The technology that powers you battery isn't terribly complicated. But it's important to understand a little bit about the chemistry behind batteries, and how that can affect your work. Specifically, temperatures can affect the performance of your battery. It's best to use (and especially charge) your batteries at room temperatures. Extreme conditions can drain your battery quickly. Also, avoid partial charges and use the battery until it is dead. Battery experts liken partial charges — and discharges — to eating a cup of lard every day. It significantly shortens your battery's life. Considering that a lithium-ion battery can explode if it's improperly used, it could also shorten your life.

3. Let your laptop do the saving. Not every computing device handles a power source in the same way. Some of the more sophisticated laptops, which are designed with business travelers in mind, are misers when it comes to using power. And that's a good thing — if you can remember to take advantage of it. "Most users make the mistake of simply not choosing to use a product's built-in ability to conserve battery life," says Dan Coffman, a senior product manager for PC manufacturer ViewSonic. How do you harness your PC's built-in ability to save? Consult your user manual. Often, calibrating your laptop is as easy as double-clicking on the battery icon in the toolbar.

4. Always, always carry a spare device that uses batteries. How obvious is that? Well, if you're trying to keep under the onerous new airline weight-limits, it isn't. But as Rick Thompson, director of engineering at Valence Technology in Austin, Texas, observes, "the availability of 'free' power outside of your hotel room is not predictable." That's a nice way of saying it. In fact, I sometimes think airport terminals, car-rental facilities and hotels try to hide the power outlets from us to keep us from accessing their free power. Thompson recommends a system that can simultaneously charge a second portable device such as a cell phone or PDA, allowing you to multitask your battery operations.

 

[yokohama]

exactly ,last comment is true , thats why i wewnt to alawzs to msconfig, to change what i need ,there is so many function what we never use

type in to google - msconfig serevices , first fwe link will tell how to stop the spare services