If you’re a recent convert to smartphones, you’re probably still discovering all the amazing things that your new BlackBerry, Android phone or iPhone can do. But one thing you most likely found out right away: the more you do, the shorter your phone’s battery lasts (Apple A1281 battery) .
While a standard cellphone’s charge can easily go three days or more, many smartphone owners are dismayed to learn that their new mobile toy requires charging every 24 hours, or even more often. It was great that I could use one device — my iPhone — to check my calendar and respond to multiple incoming calls during January’s Consumer Electronics Show, but I paid the price when its battery died at 2 p.m (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
The answer was not to desperately search for an electrical outlet to recharge the phone (though I’ve done that) or to consider giving up the phone (done that, too), but rather to figure out a strategy to reduce energy consumption while still having it available for essential tasks. Whether you’re using a laptop or a smartphone, the devices can be tweaked to get the most out of its lithium-ion batteries (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
Reconsider Your Network
All things being equal, the C.D.M.A. mobile standard used by Verizon uses more power than a G.S.M. network, principally used by AT&T and T-Mobile. If battery life is critical, you might want to consider G.S.M. as long as its coverage meets your needs (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery).
Dim It
The brighter your screen, the more juice you’re using. If you’re in a dimly lit room, turn down your LCD screen’s brightness. If your device has an autodimming feature that detects the light in a room, use it. Similarly, if you use your smartphone or laptop to play music, lower the volume (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
If you have a BlackBerry, the company’s holster will automatically turn off the screen when you insert the phone.
Stop Searching
It is great that you can use Bluetooth technology to connect your smartphone to a headset, or use Wi-Fi to speed up the downloading of e-mail messages. But when you’re not using that headset or not near a Wi-Fi hot spot, turn off those features on the phone or laptop (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
The reason is that portable devices will continue to look for Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth headset, using power.
Similarly, put your phone to sleep when it is in standby. On an iPhone, you do so through the “Settings” icon. On a BlackBerry, use the “Manage Connections” icon (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
Skip a Generation
Your smartphone is also continually looking for a cellphone signal. If you’re in a weak signal area, your phone must work even harder to find one, decreasing battery life. If you know that there is no coverage in your area, turn off your portable device’s mobile capabilities (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .
If your G.S.M. 3G network is not available or the signal is weak, the battery will drain faster looking for one. Consider turning off the phone’s 3G network or using the slower EDGE network instead. It will make Web access slower but won’t affect phone call quality (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
Check Mail Manually
Mobile smartphones can check for e-mail messages and instant messages automatically. Or they can be set to “push” notifications as soon as they arrive in your server’s mailbox (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
Both strategies can be power hogs. To increase your battery life, turn off push and increase the interval between when the phone checks for new messages. Or better, set up your phone to check for messages manually (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
Turn Off Everything
The simplest way to cut power to a minimum is to put your smartphone into “airplane mode.” You turn your BlackBerry or iPhone into a music player and personal organizer, and you won’t be able to receive e-mail messages or make or receive phone calls, but you will stretch your battery (HP PAVILION DV9700t Battery) .
“In airplane mode and running just the alarm clock, your iPhone battery will last up to a week,” said Kyle Wiens, co-founder of ifixit.com, an online iPhone and Mac laptop repair company (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
Disable the Animations
The hotter your laptop feels, the more battery power it is using. And one of the biggest users of power is Flash animation, the technology behind many online videos and animated ads. To improve battery life, disable Flash when not using wall power. BashFlash and ClicktoFlash for Macs and Flashblock for PC are programs that will automatically restrict Flash (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
Get an App to Aid You
There are a number of applications that can help monitor battery life and shut off various functions that cut down on a mobile device’s effective power (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .
Battery Go and myBatteryLife tell iPhone owners how much charge they have left and how that power translates into minutes of talk time, music, video and Web surfing.
NB BattStat alerts BlackBerry owners to the amount of battery charge remaining, as well as the battery’s temperature. (Hot batteries lose power more quickly.) The device can be set to vibrate or sound when a predetermined low battery level is reached (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
Radio Saver will monitor your BlackBerry’s mobile coverage and shut off the device’s mobile circuitry when you are out of range of a cellular signal.
Best BatterySaver allows owners of mobile phones using the Symbian operating system (including models from Nokia and Sony Ericsson) to create battery-saving profiles. For example, certain features can be automatically turned on when the phone is connected to a wall plug, or Bluetooth can be automatically disconnected when the battery charge drops below a certain level (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .
For laptops, programs like Battery Health Monitor (Mac) and Laptop Battery Power Monitor (PC) keep track of battery charge and estimate how many more times you’ll be able to recharge your battery (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) .
Realize the End Will Come
The older generation of nickel cadmium batteries suffered from memory issues; if you didn’t fully charge and discharge one, it would hold a progressively smaller amount of juice.
Today’s lithium-ion batteries don’t suffer from memory loss, so it is safe to top off a battery (HP 530 battery) .
Lithium-ion batteries cannot be overcharged; a device’s circuitry cuts off the power when they are full. However, manufacturers still recommend that a laptop not be continually connected to power once the battery is at its capacity. If a laptop won’t be used for several months, it should be stored with the battery in a 50 percent charge state (Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
All batteries can be fully charged and discharged for a fixed number of cycles; lithium ion batteries typically last between 300 and 500 cycles. Information on the number of cycles can be obtained at manufacturers’ Web sites, or at www.daily-battery.com (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery).
No matter how well you husband your battery’s resources, there comes a time when you’ll need to send your battery to its final resting place (Dell INSPIRON 1525Battery) .
Like most things nearing the end of their life, your battery will stay awake less and sleep more. “If your battery lasts only an hour after you’ve charged it,” said Anthony Magnabosco, owner of Milliamp.com, a battery replacement company, “you know its time is up (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery) .”
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
How To Test Your Laptop Battery?
H ow to check charge times for laptop battery?
install all drivers and laptop battery Maximiser ThinkPad configuration software, then open the “Control Panel” ——”Thinkpad Configuration”——”Power Management”——”Battery Information”——”Cycle Count”, then it will show you (Apple A1281 battery) .
How to Test Your Laptop Battery?
Laptop batteries can fail, or over time can lose their ability to hold a charge. If your laptop suddenly stops cooperating, you can usually determine if a bad battery is causing the problem by removing it from its bay (on the bottom or side of the laptop) and running the laptop from the lalptop ac adapter only. If the batteryless laptop runs properly when connected to the adapter, the battery has most likely kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, and otherwise become defunct (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
You can further test this hypothesis by substituting a laptop battery that you know is functioning well from another laptop of the same model. You may be able to borrow a coworker’s battery or take the laptop to a cooperative retailer’s repair counter (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
If, in the other hand, your batteryless laptop doesn’t run when connected to the laptop AC adapter, either the adapter or the laptop’s internal electronics have failed. Again, if you can borrow a known-good ac adapter, use it to see if the problem is caused by the cords or converter or if the issue lies deeper within the laptop itself (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
How to charge for the new bought laptop?what to do to maintain the laptop battery?
Lithium(hydronium) battery (such as toshiba laptop battery ,compaq laptop battery)needs certain electromotive force inside to keep the activity of internal chemical substances. Therefore, you should charge full and use it up. Generally speaking, the first three charging take about six hours (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
Charge to 100% is ok then. You should not charge only for a short period of time, when the electric power is less than 10%, charge in time. If you used it up completely, it’ll cause damage to laptop battery; at the same time, if the power is more than 60%, you should not charge as possible as you. The laptop battery which won’t be used for a long, should be used to about 50% power left, and then keep it in room temperature dry environment (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
Laptop batteries are not something that most people think about as they are using the laptop. However, it is a common experience to find that the screen suddenly goes dark and you realise that you have exhausted the battery. Luckily, the answer is just to plug in the charger and carry on, and with any luck all your work will have been auto-saved (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
Laptop batteries are not something that most people think about as they are using the laptop. However, it is a common experience to find that the screen suddenly goes dark and you realise that you have exhausted the battery. Luckily, the answer is just to plug in the charger and carry on, and with any luck all your work will have been auto-saved (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
There is more of a problem when laptop batteries just keep running down and the amount of time between charges becomes shorter and shorter. The inconvenience of this can be enormous as the need for frequent re-charging of the battery cancels out the convenience of having a laptop which should be a portable computer. Laptop batteries in this condition can be a real nuisance and make working on the laptop frustrating as you have to keep an eye on the battery life remaining and be ready to find a power source when it is needed – not always convenient or possible, especially when you are working on the move (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
The answer is a replacement laptop battery, and fortunately, you can find here at Laptop Power UK replacement laptop batteries which are compatible with all the main laptop manufacturers. Once you have your replacement laptop battery, you will be able to use your laptop anywhere you are again without having to worry about that little icon warning you that your time is running out (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
Replacement laptop batteries are really worthwhile to keep your familiar laptop running and available to you, rather than having to buy a new laptop just because the laptop battery in the original one has reached the end of its useful life. A laptop that constantly needs re-charging is just an irritant and something everyone can do without in these busy days, so a replacement laptop battery will nicely solve that problem (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
install all drivers and laptop battery Maximiser ThinkPad configuration software, then open the “Control Panel” ——”Thinkpad Configuration”——”Power Management”——”Battery Information”——”Cycle Count”, then it will show you (Apple A1281 battery) .
How to Test Your Laptop Battery?
Laptop batteries can fail, or over time can lose their ability to hold a charge. If your laptop suddenly stops cooperating, you can usually determine if a bad battery is causing the problem by removing it from its bay (on the bottom or side of the laptop) and running the laptop from the lalptop ac adapter only. If the batteryless laptop runs properly when connected to the adapter, the battery has most likely kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, and otherwise become defunct (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
You can further test this hypothesis by substituting a laptop battery that you know is functioning well from another laptop of the same model. You may be able to borrow a coworker’s battery or take the laptop to a cooperative retailer’s repair counter (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
If, in the other hand, your batteryless laptop doesn’t run when connected to the laptop AC adapter, either the adapter or the laptop’s internal electronics have failed. Again, if you can borrow a known-good ac adapter, use it to see if the problem is caused by the cords or converter or if the issue lies deeper within the laptop itself (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
How to charge for the new bought laptop?what to do to maintain the laptop battery?
Lithium(hydronium) battery (such as toshiba laptop battery ,compaq laptop battery)needs certain electromotive force inside to keep the activity of internal chemical substances. Therefore, you should charge full and use it up. Generally speaking, the first three charging take about six hours (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
Charge to 100% is ok then. You should not charge only for a short period of time, when the electric power is less than 10%, charge in time. If you used it up completely, it’ll cause damage to laptop battery; at the same time, if the power is more than 60%, you should not charge as possible as you. The laptop battery which won’t be used for a long, should be used to about 50% power left, and then keep it in room temperature dry environment (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
Laptop batteries are not something that most people think about as they are using the laptop. However, it is a common experience to find that the screen suddenly goes dark and you realise that you have exhausted the battery. Luckily, the answer is just to plug in the charger and carry on, and with any luck all your work will have been auto-saved (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
Laptop batteries are not something that most people think about as they are using the laptop. However, it is a common experience to find that the screen suddenly goes dark and you realise that you have exhausted the battery. Luckily, the answer is just to plug in the charger and carry on, and with any luck all your work will have been auto-saved (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
There is more of a problem when laptop batteries just keep running down and the amount of time between charges becomes shorter and shorter. The inconvenience of this can be enormous as the need for frequent re-charging of the battery cancels out the convenience of having a laptop which should be a portable computer. Laptop batteries in this condition can be a real nuisance and make working on the laptop frustrating as you have to keep an eye on the battery life remaining and be ready to find a power source when it is needed – not always convenient or possible, especially when you are working on the move (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
The answer is a replacement laptop battery, and fortunately, you can find here at Laptop Power UK replacement laptop batteries which are compatible with all the main laptop manufacturers. Once you have your replacement laptop battery, you will be able to use your laptop anywhere you are again without having to worry about that little icon warning you that your time is running out (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
Replacement laptop batteries are really worthwhile to keep your familiar laptop running and available to you, rather than having to buy a new laptop just because the laptop battery in the original one has reached the end of its useful life. A laptop that constantly needs re-charging is just an irritant and something everyone can do without in these busy days, so a replacement laptop battery will nicely solve that problem (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
Friday, June 25, 2010
For Everyone：Recycling your Battery
Over 75 million Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries were sold in the US during the year 2000. Market predictions indicate that the demand of NiCd batteries will rise six percent per year until 2003. The demand for other chemistries such as Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (Li‑ion) is increasing at a more rapid pace. Where will the mountains of batteries go when spent? The answer is recycling (Apple A1281 battery) .
The lead acid battery has led the way in recycling. The automotive industry should be given credit in organizing ways to dispose of old car batteries. In the USA, 98 percent of all lead acid batteries are recycled. Compared to aluminum cans (65 percent), newspaper (59 percent) and glass bottles (37 percent), lead acid batteries are reclaimed very efficiently, due in part to legislation (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Only one in six households in North America recycle small rechargeable batteries. Homeowners have the lowest return ratios, but this should improve once more recycling repositories become available and better environmental awareness is emphasized (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
The NiCd battery is one of the more hazardous batteries in terms of disposal. If used in landfills, the cadmium will eventually dissolve itself and the toxic substance will seep into the water supply, causing serious health problems. Our oceans are already beginning to show traces of cadmium (along with aspirin, penicillin and antidepressants) but the source of the contamination is unknown. Under no circumstances can batteries be incinerated as this can cause them to explode (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
Although NiMH batteries are considered environmentally friendly, this chemistry is also being recycled. The main derivative is nickel, which is considered semi-toxic. NiMH also contains an electrolyte that, in large amounts, is hazardous to the environment (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
If no disposal service is available in an area, individual NiMH batteries can be discarded with other household wastes. If ten or more batteries are accumulated, the user should consider disposing the batteries in a secure waste landfill (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
Lithium (metal) batteries contain no toxic metals, however, there is the possibility of fire if metallic lithium is exposed to moisture while the cells are corroding. Most lithium batteries are non-rechargeable and are used by defense organizations. Cameras and other commercial products also use primary lithium batteries. For proper disposal, these batteries . must be fully discharged in order to consume all metallic lithium content. Li‑ion batteries (rechargeable), on the other hand, do not contain metallic lithium and the disposal problem does not exist. Most lithium systems contain toxic and flammable electrolyte, however (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
In 1994, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) was founded to promote the recycling of rechargeable batteries in North America. RBRC is a non-profit organization that collects batteries from consumers and businesses and sends them to Inmetco and Toxco for recycling. Inmetco specializes in recycling NiCd, but also accepts NiMH and lead-based batteries. Toxco, focuses on lithium metal and Li‑ion system. Currently only intended to recycle NiCd batteries, RBRC will expand the program to include also NiMH, Li‑ion and SLA batteries (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
Programs to recycle spent batteries have been in place in Europe and Asia for many years. Sony and Sumitomo Metal in Japan have developed a technology to recycle cobalt and other precious metals from Li‑ion batteries. The rest of Asia is progressing at a slower rate. Some movements in recycling spent batteries .are starting in Taiwan and China, but no significant infrastructure exists (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
Battery recycling plants require batteries to be sorted according to chemistries. Some sorting is done prior to the battery arriving at the recycling plants. NiCd, NiMH, Li‑ion and lead acid are often placed in designated boxes at the collection point. Sorting batteries must be done manually, an operation that adds to the cost of recycling (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
If a steady stream of sorted batteries were available at no charge, recycling would be feasible with little cost to the user. The logistics of collection, transportation and labor to sort the batteries make recycling expensive (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
The recycling process starts by removing the combustible material, such as plastics and insulation using a gas fired thermal oxidizer. Gases from the thermal oxidizer are sent to the plant’s scrubber where they are neutralized to remove pollutants. The process leaves the clean, naked cells, which contain valuable metal content (Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
The cells are then chopped into small pieces, which are heated until the metal liquefies. Non-metallic substances are burned off; leaving a black slag on top that is removed with a slag arm. The different alloys settle according to their weights and are skimmed off like cream from raw milk (HP 530 battery) .
Cadmium is relatively light and vaporizes easily at high temperatures. In a process that appears like a pan boiling over, a fan blows the cadmium vapor into a large tube, which is cooled with water mist. This causes the vapors to condense. A 99.95 percent purity level of cadmium can be achieved using this method (IBM ThinkPad T60 battery ) .
Some recyclers do not separate the metals on site but pour the liquid metals directly into what the industry refers to as ‘pigs’ (65 pounds) or ‘hogs’ (2000 pounds). The pigs and hogs are then shipped to metal recovery plants. Here, the material is used to produce nickel, chromium and iron re-melt alloy for the manufacturing of stainless steel and other high end products (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
Current battery recycling methods requires a high amount of energy. It takes six to ten times the amount of energy to reclaim metals from recycled batteries than it would through other means. A new process is being explored, which may be more energy and cost effective. One method is dissolving the batteries with a reagent solution. The spent reagent is recycled without forming any atmospheric, liquid or solid wastes (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
Who pays for the recycling of batteries in bulk? Participating countries impose their own rules in making recycling feasible. In North America, some recycling plants bill on weight. The rates vary according to chemistry. Systems that yield high metal retrieval rates are priced lower than those that produce less valuable metals (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
The highest recycling fees apply to NiCd and Li‑ion batteries because the demand for cadmium is low and Li‑ion batteries contain little retrievable metal. The recycling cost of alkaline is 33 percent lower than that of NiCd and Li‑ion because the alkaline cell contains iron. The NiMH battery yields the best return. Recycling NiMH produces enough nickel to pay for the process (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery ) .
Not all countries base the cost of recycling on the battery chemistry; some put it on tonnage alone. The average cost of recycling batteries is $1,000 to $2,000US per ton. Europe hopes to achieve a cost per ton of $300US. Ideally, this would include transportation, however, moving the goods is expected to double the overall cost. For this reason, Europe is setting up several smaller processing locations in strategic geographic locations (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
Significant subsidies are sill required from manufacturers, agencies and governments to support the battery recycling programs. These subsidies are in the form of a tax added to each manufactured cell. RBRC is financed by such a scheme (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) .
Proper disposal of batteries is a growing concern, especially with NiCd. In spite of the move to environmentally friendlier chemistries such as NiMH and Li-ion, the NiCd battery continues to fill an important market niche. Many applications do not run satisfactorily with newer battery systems. Portable equipment that must rely on the durable and forgiving power source of the classic NiCd are power tools, biomedical devices and two-way radio (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
Rechargeable batteries produce far less waste than the non-rechargeable variety because they can be reused hundreds of time. In terms of preserving the environment, switching to rechargeables makes common sense. The most durable rechargeable battery is the NiCd, a chemistry that is also the least friendly if carelessly discarded (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery)
The lead acid battery has led the way in recycling. The automotive industry should be given credit in organizing ways to dispose of old car batteries. In the USA, 98 percent of all lead acid batteries are recycled. Compared to aluminum cans (65 percent), newspaper (59 percent) and glass bottles (37 percent), lead acid batteries are reclaimed very efficiently, due in part to legislation (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Only one in six households in North America recycle small rechargeable batteries. Homeowners have the lowest return ratios, but this should improve once more recycling repositories become available and better environmental awareness is emphasized (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
The NiCd battery is one of the more hazardous batteries in terms of disposal. If used in landfills, the cadmium will eventually dissolve itself and the toxic substance will seep into the water supply, causing serious health problems. Our oceans are already beginning to show traces of cadmium (along with aspirin, penicillin and antidepressants) but the source of the contamination is unknown. Under no circumstances can batteries be incinerated as this can cause them to explode (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
Although NiMH batteries are considered environmentally friendly, this chemistry is also being recycled. The main derivative is nickel, which is considered semi-toxic. NiMH also contains an electrolyte that, in large amounts, is hazardous to the environment (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
If no disposal service is available in an area, individual NiMH batteries can be discarded with other household wastes. If ten or more batteries are accumulated, the user should consider disposing the batteries in a secure waste landfill (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
Lithium (metal) batteries contain no toxic metals, however, there is the possibility of fire if metallic lithium is exposed to moisture while the cells are corroding. Most lithium batteries are non-rechargeable and are used by defense organizations. Cameras and other commercial products also use primary lithium batteries. For proper disposal, these batteries . must be fully discharged in order to consume all metallic lithium content. Li‑ion batteries (rechargeable), on the other hand, do not contain metallic lithium and the disposal problem does not exist. Most lithium systems contain toxic and flammable electrolyte, however (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
In 1994, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) was founded to promote the recycling of rechargeable batteries in North America. RBRC is a non-profit organization that collects batteries from consumers and businesses and sends them to Inmetco and Toxco for recycling. Inmetco specializes in recycling NiCd, but also accepts NiMH and lead-based batteries. Toxco, focuses on lithium metal and Li‑ion system. Currently only intended to recycle NiCd batteries, RBRC will expand the program to include also NiMH, Li‑ion and SLA batteries (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
Programs to recycle spent batteries have been in place in Europe and Asia for many years. Sony and Sumitomo Metal in Japan have developed a technology to recycle cobalt and other precious metals from Li‑ion batteries. The rest of Asia is progressing at a slower rate. Some movements in recycling spent batteries .are starting in Taiwan and China, but no significant infrastructure exists (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
Battery recycling plants require batteries to be sorted according to chemistries. Some sorting is done prior to the battery arriving at the recycling plants. NiCd, NiMH, Li‑ion and lead acid are often placed in designated boxes at the collection point. Sorting batteries must be done manually, an operation that adds to the cost of recycling (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
If a steady stream of sorted batteries were available at no charge, recycling would be feasible with little cost to the user. The logistics of collection, transportation and labor to sort the batteries make recycling expensive (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
The recycling process starts by removing the combustible material, such as plastics and insulation using a gas fired thermal oxidizer. Gases from the thermal oxidizer are sent to the plant’s scrubber where they are neutralized to remove pollutants. The process leaves the clean, naked cells, which contain valuable metal content (Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
The cells are then chopped into small pieces, which are heated until the metal liquefies. Non-metallic substances are burned off; leaving a black slag on top that is removed with a slag arm. The different alloys settle according to their weights and are skimmed off like cream from raw milk (HP 530 battery) .
Cadmium is relatively light and vaporizes easily at high temperatures. In a process that appears like a pan boiling over, a fan blows the cadmium vapor into a large tube, which is cooled with water mist. This causes the vapors to condense. A 99.95 percent purity level of cadmium can be achieved using this method (IBM ThinkPad T60 battery ) .
Some recyclers do not separate the metals on site but pour the liquid metals directly into what the industry refers to as ‘pigs’ (65 pounds) or ‘hogs’ (2000 pounds). The pigs and hogs are then shipped to metal recovery plants. Here, the material is used to produce nickel, chromium and iron re-melt alloy for the manufacturing of stainless steel and other high end products (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
Current battery recycling methods requires a high amount of energy. It takes six to ten times the amount of energy to reclaim metals from recycled batteries than it would through other means. A new process is being explored, which may be more energy and cost effective. One method is dissolving the batteries with a reagent solution. The spent reagent is recycled without forming any atmospheric, liquid or solid wastes (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
Who pays for the recycling of batteries in bulk? Participating countries impose their own rules in making recycling feasible. In North America, some recycling plants bill on weight. The rates vary according to chemistry. Systems that yield high metal retrieval rates are priced lower than those that produce less valuable metals (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
The highest recycling fees apply to NiCd and Li‑ion batteries because the demand for cadmium is low and Li‑ion batteries contain little retrievable metal. The recycling cost of alkaline is 33 percent lower than that of NiCd and Li‑ion because the alkaline cell contains iron. The NiMH battery yields the best return. Recycling NiMH produces enough nickel to pay for the process (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery ) .
Not all countries base the cost of recycling on the battery chemistry; some put it on tonnage alone. The average cost of recycling batteries is $1,000 to $2,000US per ton. Europe hopes to achieve a cost per ton of $300US. Ideally, this would include transportation, however, moving the goods is expected to double the overall cost. For this reason, Europe is setting up several smaller processing locations in strategic geographic locations (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
Significant subsidies are sill required from manufacturers, agencies and governments to support the battery recycling programs. These subsidies are in the form of a tax added to each manufactured cell. RBRC is financed by such a scheme (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) .
Summary
Proper disposal of batteries is a growing concern, especially with NiCd. In spite of the move to environmentally friendlier chemistries such as NiMH and Li-ion, the NiCd battery continues to fill an important market niche. Many applications do not run satisfactorily with newer battery systems. Portable equipment that must rely on the durable and forgiving power source of the classic NiCd are power tools, biomedical devices and two-way radio (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
Rechargeable batteries produce far less waste than the non-rechargeable variety because they can be reused hundreds of time. In terms of preserving the environment, switching to rechargeables makes common sense. The most durable rechargeable battery is the NiCd, a chemistry that is also the least friendly if carelessly discarded (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
20 Ways To Increase Laptop’s Battery Life
Mobile computing has got better with lighter components, better chips and faster processors. But the Achilles heel of a laptop has remained its battery. So here are we are going to look at ways to increase laptop battery life (Apple A1281 battery) .
Modern graphic intensive operating systems and resource hungry applications are cutting down the life of your laptop’s battery every day. The average battery life per continuous use still stands at a maximum of three to four hours. So, a fast depleting battery could very swiftly put the crutches on your ‘mobile’ road trip (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Falling just short of carrying an extra pack of batteries in the back-pack, are several ways to keep the juice flowing through the batteries (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
1. Ship shape with a defrag
Regular defragmentation helps to arrange data more efficiently thus making the hard drive work less to access the data. The quicker the moving hard drive works lesser is the load placed on the battery. Thus, your batter can last longer. The effect is minimal, but this efficiency goes hand in glove with hard drive maintenance (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
2. Kill the resource gobblers
End the background processes that are not vital. Monitor the resource usage through a ‘Ctrl-Alt-Del’ which brings up the Windows Task Manager (in Windows). If you’re not on the internet, it is safe to shut down the immediate non-essential programs running in the taskbar like the antivirus and the firewall. Weed out unnecessary programs running as start-ups by launching the System Configuration Utility from Run – Msconfig – Tab: Startup. Uncheck the programs which you don’t want to launch and reboot the computer once (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
3. Pause the scheduled tasks
It may be a defrag or a virus scan, but make sure it is scheduled for a time when you are near a power outlet. If not then nix them for the moment (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
4. Unplug external devices
USB devices are the biggest drainers of battery power. Unplug all external devices like an external mouse, PC cards, Wi-Fi, external speakers, Bluetooth and even an attached iPod (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
5. Empty the CD/DVD Drives
Even if you don’t intend to use it, don’t leave any CD/DVDs as leftovers in the drives. A spinning drive sucks battery power like a sponge (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
6. Go local
Desist using the DVD/external drives while running on batteries. Shift the content to the hard drive or run using (free) virtual drives like Pismo File Mount or even Microsoft’s Virtual CD ROM Control Panel (Dell Inspiron 1525 battery) .
7. Lower the lights
The LCD screen of a laptop is another huge power sink. Calibrate the brightness to the lowest level you can tolerate using the Function key toggles or using the Display Settings applet in the Control Panel (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
8. Kill the sounds
Mute the speakers and try avoiding the use of multimedia software to maximize the battery life. Installed sound schemes also drain a battery perceptibly (Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
9. Rid the screensaver
To maximize battery life by a little, switch off the screensaver (HP 530 battery) .
10. Visit Power Options
Get familiar with power management through the ‘Power Options’ applet in the Control Panel. Both XP and Vista come with advanced power management features which shut off components like the monitor and/or the hard drive after specified intervals. This again depends on the chosen ‘Power Schemes’ (for XP) in the same applet. For instance in XP, ‘Max Battery’ under Power Schemes can be selected for maximum battery optimization.Similar settings can be found under ‘Mobile PC’ in the Control Panel of Vista (IBM ThinkPad T60 battery ) .
11. Turn off the looks
Today’s OS’s like Windows Vista come with features like ‘Aero Glass’ which are resource guzzlers. One can turn it off and go for the ‘Classic’ appearance which consumes less power. In Vista, click on Desktop – Preferences – View Colour – Appearance – Classic Appearance and Windows Basic graphical interface. In XP it’s – Display Properties – Theme – Windows Classic.
Linux and even Macintosh are better optimized for longer battery life (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
12. Hibernate is better than Sleep
In the Stand By mode (or sleep mode), the computer turns of the hard drive and the display but memory remains active while the CPU slows down. This draws on the battery. In contrast, hibernation mode is better because the computer saves the current state and shuts itself down completely thus saving power (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
13. Get the most…work on the least
Working on too many programs while on the battery is a sure fire power drainer. Keep use of graphic intensive applications to a minimum. Working on a spreadsheet consumes much less than playing your favourite game. To increase the life of the battery open just one or two programs concurrently (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
14. Ram in more RAM
Adequate RAM reduces the load on Virtual memory which by default resides on the hard drive. Though every extra bit of RAM uses up more power, it increases overall savings by short cutting access to the power hungry hard drive (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery )
15. Keep it clean
A laptop with blocked air vents will generate more heat thus reducing the life of the battery. Clean the air vents regularly to keep operating temperatures low. Allow for open space around the vents for air to circulate freely. Keep the area around the laptop clean to avoid entry of dust (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
16. Temperature is a silent killer
Undue heat kills off a battery slowly but surely. Avoid leaving the laptop under direct sunlight or inside a closed car (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) .
17. Avoid the memory effect
A problem more for the older Ni-MH batteries than for Li-Ion batteries on which most modern laptops run. Memory effect relates to the loss of battery charge when they are repeatedly recharged after being only partially discharged. It can be prevented by discharging the battery fully and then completely recharging it. Li-Ion batteries on the other hand have no problems with partial discharges and re-charges and complete discharge is never recommended for this type (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
18. Update software and drivers
This sounds a bit incongruous but then newer drivers and software are often designed to be more efficient (and hopefully less resource hungry) (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .
19. Use the right adapter
Ensure that the adapter you use to charge the laptop battery is an original one or one with the correct specifications. A mismatch in the wattage could cause an overload thus damaging the laptop and the battery (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
20. Pack it up
If you don’t plan to use the laptop on batteries for quite some time, ensure that the charge is nearly 40 percent – remove the batteries and store it in a cool place (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
A typical lithium ion battery has an overall average life of 2-3 years. With some care and caution, its mortality can be delayed.
Have you found your own way to increase battery life of your laptop? Share the ‘life giving’ tips with us in the comments.
20 Ways To Increase Laptop’s Battery Life
Mobile computing has got better with lighter components, better chips and faster processors. But the Achilles heel of a laptop has remained its battery. So here are we are going to look at ways to increase laptop battery life (Apple A1281 battery) .
Modern graphic intensive operating systems and resource hungry applications are cutting down the life of your laptop’s battery every day. The average battery life per continuous use still stands at a maximum of three to four hours. So, a fast depleting battery could very swiftly put the crutches on your ‘mobile’ road trip (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Falling just short of carrying an extra pack of batteries in the back-pack, are several ways to keep the juice flowing through the batteries (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
1. Ship shape with a defrag
Regular defragmentation helps to arrange data more efficiently thus making the hard drive work less to access the data. The quicker the moving hard drive works lesser is the load placed on the battery. Thus, your batter can last longer. The effect is minimal, but this efficiency goes hand in glove with hard drive maintenance (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
2. Kill the resource gobblers
End the background processes that are not vital. Monitor the resource usage through a ‘Ctrl-Alt-Del’ which brings up the Windows Task Manager (in Windows). If you’re not on the internet, it is safe to shut down the immediate non-essential programs running in the taskbar like the antivirus and the firewall. Weed out unnecessary programs running as start-ups by launching the System Configuration Utility from Run – Msconfig – Tab: Startup. Uncheck the programs which you don’t want to launch and reboot the computer once (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
3. Pause the scheduled tasks
It may be a defrag or a virus scan, but make sure it is scheduled for a time when you are near a power outlet. If not then nix them for the moment (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
4. Unplug external devices
USB devices are the biggest drainers of battery power. Unplug all external devices like an external mouse, PC cards, Wi-Fi, external speakers, Bluetooth and even an attached iPod (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
5. Empty the CD/DVD Drives
Even if you don’t intend to use it, don’t leave any CD/DVDs as leftovers in the drives. A spinning drive sucks battery power like a sponge (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
6. Go local
Desist using the DVD/external drives while running on batteries. Shift the content to the hard drive or run using (free) virtual drives like Pismo File Mount or even Microsoft’s Virtual CD ROM Control Panel (Dell Inspiron 1525 battery) .
7. Lower the lights
The LCD screen of a laptop is another huge power sink. Calibrate the brightness to the lowest level you can tolerate using the Function key toggles or using the Display Settings applet in the Control Panel (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
8. Kill the sounds
Mute the speakers and try avoiding the use of multimedia software to maximize the battery life. Installed sound schemes also drain a battery perceptibly (Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
9. Rid the screensaver
To maximize battery life by a little, switch off the screensaver (HP 530 battery) .
10. Visit Power Options
Get familiar with power management through the ‘Power Options’ applet in the Control Panel. Both XP and Vista come with advanced power management features which shut off components like the monitor and/or the hard drive after specified intervals. This again depends on the chosen ‘Power Schemes’ (for XP) in the same applet. For instance in XP, ‘Max Battery’ under Power Schemes can be selected for maximum battery optimization.Similar settings can be found under ‘Mobile PC’ in the Control Panel of Vista (IBM ThinkPad T60 battery ) .
11. Turn off the looks
Today’s OS’s like Windows Vista come with features like ‘Aero Glass’ which are resource guzzlers. One can turn it off and go for the ‘Classic’ appearance which consumes less power. In Vista, click on Desktop – Preferences – View Colour – Appearance – Classic Appearance and Windows Basic graphical interface. In XP it’s – Display Properties – Theme – Windows Classic.
Linux and even Macintosh are better optimized for longer battery life (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
12. Hibernate is better than Sleep
In the Stand By mode (or sleep mode), the computer turns of the hard drive and the display but memory remains active while the CPU slows down. This draws on the battery. In contrast, hibernation mode is better because the computer saves the current state and shuts itself down completely thus saving power (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
13. Get the most…work on the least
Working on too many programs while on the battery is a sure fire power drainer. Keep use of graphic intensive applications to a minimum. Working on a spreadsheet consumes much less than playing your favourite game. To increase the life of the battery open just one or two programs concurrently (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
14. Ram in more RAM
Adequate RAM reduces the load on Virtual memory which by default resides on the hard drive. Though every extra bit of RAM uses up more power, it increases overall savings by short cutting access to the power hungry hard drive (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery )
15. Keep it clean
A laptop with blocked air vents will generate more heat thus reducing the life of the battery. Clean the air vents regularly to keep operating temperatures low. Allow for open space around the vents for air to circulate freely. Keep the area around the laptop clean to avoid entry of dust (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
16. Temperature is a silent killer
Undue heat kills off a battery slowly but surely. Avoid leaving the laptop under direct sunlight or inside a closed car (Dell Inspiron 1420 battery) .
17. Avoid the memory effect
A problem more for the older Ni-MH batteries than for Li-Ion batteries on which most modern laptops run. Memory effect relates to the loss of battery charge when they are repeatedly recharged after being only partially discharged. It can be prevented by discharging the battery fully and then completely recharging it. Li-Ion batteries on the other hand have no problems with partial discharges and re-charges and complete discharge is never recommended for this type (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
18. Update software and drivers
This sounds a bit incongruous but then newer drivers and software are often designed to be more efficient (and hopefully less resource hungry) (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .
19. Use the right adapter
Ensure that the adapter you use to charge the laptop battery is an original one or one with the correct specifications. A mismatch in the wattage could cause an overload thus damaging the laptop and the battery (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
20. Pack it up
If you don’t plan to use the laptop on batteries for quite some time, ensure that the charge is nearly 40 percent – remove the batteries and store it in a cool place (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
A typical lithium ion battery has an overall average life of 2-3 years. With some care and caution, its mortality can be delayed.
Have you found your own way to increase battery life of your laptop? Share the ‘life giving’ tips with us in the comments.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Laptop Battery Life Lies
You have seen the claims by manufacturers that their laptop will run five, six and even eight hours on a single charge. These sound like spectacular feats that would actually allow one to use a laptop for an entire flight across the continental United States. The problem is that most of these laptops would not be able to run for that long. How can manufacturers make such claims about their laptops even though no users are able to achieve such results (Apple A1281 battery) ?
This article will look into what aspects of a laptop determine how long it can run on a fully charged battery, how manufacturers achieve such high numbers and how I test laptops for real world battery. Hopefully this can help users to get a better idea of what to expect when it comes to how long they can expect a laptop to actually run when not plugged in (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
There are to things that will be the basis for determining how long a laptop computer should run on batteries. Of course, the overall capacity of the battery is the easiest to determine and understand. All batteries can store a fixed amount of energy in them. This is rated in mAh or milliampere-hours. I could go into technical details but suffice to say, the higher the mAh that a battery is rated out, the more energy that is stored in the battery (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery ) .
So, why is the battery capacity important? Of two systems that use the same amount of power, the one with a higher mAh rated battery will last longer. This makes comparison easy for the batteries themselves. The problem is that no two laptop configurations will draw the same amount of power (Dell Inspiron E1505 battery) .
Power consumption of a laptop depends upon all of the components that make up the system. So, a system with a lower power consumption CPU will generally last longer if all parts are equal but they almost never are. It gets even more complicated because the power consumption can also vary depending upon how the laptop is being used. Heavy disk uses draws more power than little usage (Dell Latitude D620 battery) .
All isn't lost for consumers though. In general the size of the laptop will also equate to how much power it uses. For example, a desktop replacement will generally draw more power than a thin and light. A thin and light draws more power than an ultraportable and a netbook draws even less still (HP Pavilion dv9000 battery) .
Now that the basics are out of the way, how can a manufacturer come up with a claim of something like ten hours of running time for a laptop yet a user in real world use may get only half as much time? It all has to do with how the manufacturers conduct their battery life tests. The most common of these is a function of the MobileMark benchmarking suite from BapCo. It simulates computer usage through sampled application use via programs such as Quicktime, Photoshop, Flash, Office and WinZip (IBM ThinkPad T41 battery) .
Now, this is a valid test that simulates usage, but it is how the test simulates usage. The test generally has the CPU idle during much of the test on the basis that many people are either idle or their applications are awaiting user input. It also doesn't set various power settings within the OS. Manufacturers often use various tricks such as decreasing the display brightness to the lowest levels and turning all of the battery saving features to their maximum the running time so they can get the highest run times possible
(Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery) .
The problem is that this is not how people use their laptops in real life. A good example is people who use their laptops for viewing DVDs on an airplane flight. This is one of the more consistent battery drawing tasks that one can use on their laptop. Thus, a battery life claim of four hours might net just two hours of DVD viewing (Dell Inspiron 1525 battery) .
Here at the About.com PC Hardware / Reviews site, I do not use the MobileMark application or the various tricks that the manufacturers may use to get their various numbers for advertising. Instead, I use a video playback test on all laptops and using the default power profiles and software settings that a laptop ships with. For laptops with a DVD compatible drive, this entails playing back a standard DVD movie in a loop until the system shuts down. On laptops without a DVD drive, in entails playing back a Quicktime based video loop until the system shuts down. This in my opinion gives some of the best real world usage numbers available (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
In general, these tasks are some of the toughest when it comes to power consumption. Typically, such a test will result in anywhere from 50 to 75% of the manufacturers claim of battery life. Of course, this is just one method of testing. People use their laptops in various ways and will generally get more battery life than this type of test but still below the manufacturer numbers
(Dell Latitude E6400 battery) .
Any consumer who is presented by a battery life number from any company or sales person needs to take this number and modify it to get a better idea of just how much battery life they would get. To determine this, you should really consider whether you use your computer heavily or lightly. A heavy user is someone that runs applications such as video editing, PC gaming or a large number of simultaneous applications. Light users are ones that typically only have one or two applications open at a time, use it primarily to browse the web or use productivity software (HP 530 battery) .
.
Once you have determined the type of user you are, it is best to half the number if you are heavy users and subtract about one quarter if you are light user. For example, a four hour battery life claim will net roughly two hours of use for a heavy uses and about three hours from a light user. This is just an estimate because it is very difficult to determine how long a battery will run on a laptop until it is used in your typical fashion (IBM ThinkPad T60 battery ) .
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Saturday, June 19, 2010
Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop Battery Life
Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up. How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible? Here are 15 easy ways to do so (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
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. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
2. Dim your screen – Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) .
3. Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, Desktop Search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
4. Cut down external devices – USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory. Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .
6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
7. Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .
8. Take care of your battery – Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery)
9. Hibernate not standby – Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
10. Keep operating temperature down - Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips by LapTopMag.com (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .
11. Set up and optimize your power options – Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery) ).
12. Don’t multitask – Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery .Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery) !
13. Go easy on the PC demands – The more you demand from your PC. Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD. If you’ve got a single battery charge – pick your priorities wisely (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .
14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery) .
15. Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ – Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which donot suffer from the memory effect (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery) .
Bonus Tip #1: Turn off the autosave function. MS-Word’s and Excel’s autosave functions are great but because they keep saving regular intervals, they work your hard driver harder than it may have to. If you plan to do this, you may want to turn it back on as the battery runs low. While it saves battery life in the beginning, you will want to make sure your work is saved when your battery dies (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Bonus Tip #2: Lower the graphics use. You can do this by changing the screen resolution and shutting off fancy graphic drivers. Graphics cards (video cards) use as much or more power today as hard disks – Thanks Andrew (Apple A1281 battery) .
Update 4/7/2010: Bonus Tip #1 to give caution about turning off autosave, tip #8 to change information about discharging batteries – thanks to all who pointed it out. Added Bonus tip #2, Tip #1 to add in clause in regards to Mac OSX, Tip #1 about the spinning of hard drives – thanks to all who pointed it out (HP PAVILION DV9700t Battery) .
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. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .
2. Dim your screen – Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) .
3. Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, Desktop Search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .
4. Cut down external devices – USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .
5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory. Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .
6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .
7. Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .
8. Take care of your battery – Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery)
9. Hibernate not standby – Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .
10. Keep operating temperature down - Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips by LapTopMag.com (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .
11. Set up and optimize your power options – Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery) ).
12. Don’t multitask – Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery .Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery) !
13. Go easy on the PC demands – The more you demand from your PC. Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD. If you’ve got a single battery charge – pick your priorities wisely (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .
14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery) .
15. Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ – Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which donot suffer from the memory effect (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery) .
Bonus Tip #1: Turn off the autosave function. MS-Word’s and Excel’s autosave functions are great but because they keep saving regular intervals, they work your hard driver harder than it may have to. If you plan to do this, you may want to turn it back on as the battery runs low. While it saves battery life in the beginning, you will want to make sure your work is saved when your battery dies (Apple M9848LL/A battery) .
Bonus Tip #2: Lower the graphics use. You can do this by changing the screen resolution and shutting off fancy graphic drivers. Graphics cards (video cards) use as much or more power today as hard disks – Thanks Andrew (Apple A1281 battery) .
Update 4/7/2010: Bonus Tip #1 to give caution about turning off autosave, tip #8 to change information about discharging batteries – thanks to all who pointed it out. Added Bonus tip #2, Tip #1 to add in clause in regards to Mac OSX, Tip #1 about the spinning of hard drives – thanks to all who pointed it out (HP PAVILION DV9700t Battery) .
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