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How To Look After Your Laptop Batteries

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Most laptop owners neglect to look after the batteries resulting in impaired functionality and utility of the laptop when they are relying upon them. Looking after the laptop's batteries makes good sense and only requires a minor alteration in user behavior and maintenance practice to prolong not only battery life but also to make sure the laptop functions when needed.

Laptop owners frequently omit to read and care for laptop batteries and make two very simple mistakes. In the first instance they use the laptop battery power in continuous conjunction with the AC power supply. Eventually they find the laptop will not power up when they come to use it. The second instance is to use battery power with no regard to the effect of repeatedly discharging the battery only partially.

So you come to power up your laptop and nothing happens, what do you do? Try removing the battery from the laptop and then power on with AC supply only and if it works then you know you have an issue with the battery. A simple purge of the battery will usually suffice to correct this problem. More on that later.

Partially discharging the battery repeatedly teaches the battery that it does not need to charge itself fully when AC power is connected. When you come to rely upon battery power and you do not have a full charge, then your use of the laptop when away from an AC power supply is curtailed. The battery "memory" is reduced when incompletely discharged and this produces the shortening effect which is known as "battery fade".

If you have experienced a shortening of the life of your battery charge when it comes to using the laptop on battery power only, then you are experiencing battery fade. The question becomes: what can you do to ensure that you do not suffer from a restriction of the use of your laptop when you are on the move.

There are two very simple procedures for resolving battery life issues. How often you perform these maintenance exercises will depend upon whether you have NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries or NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) in the laptop. Check the battery itself and the manufacturers paperwork that came with your laptop.

The first maintenance procedure is to allow the laptop to be powered only by the battery itself, so disconnect the AC power supply and allow the laptop to discharge until you get a "battery low" warning. Reconnect the AC power to the unit and leave it for 12 hours so the battery can regain its charge. Check the manufacturers instructions for the length of time that they recommend for a recharge, but typically 12 hours is sufficient to perform this adequately.

The second thing you can do is to purge the battery as we have mentioned before. Purging is where you allow the laptop to completely discharge the battery until the unit powers off completely. You do not connect the AC power supply until the unit has completely powered off and to ensure a full discharge you should disable the hibernation or any power supply sleep management function that the laptop has. Once the laptop has powered off, reconnect the AC power supply but do not switch the laptop on. Leave the laptop like this for 24 hours and repeat this process every month for NiCad batteries and every 3 months for NiMH.

These two tips will help you prolong battery life and utility, however you should carefully read the manufacturers instructions to ensure you treat your laptop in accordance with their recommendations. Laptop batteries are expensive to replace and there is also the frustration when sitting on a long flight of suddenly seeing your laptop die and work vanish due to the battery. Caring for your laptop batteries will enhance your laptop utility and your productivity when you are away from home or office.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com

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