3 replies to this topic

[H.O.D]

OK the title may seem silly but the fact is that I've never used a netbook (or any other type of laptop for that matter) before and I'm unsure about how I should use it. I'm talking about battery maintanence. My netbook has a 6-cell battery and gives an average of 5 hours backup. I easily do 5 hours of computing daily so that means charging the battery daily. Is this going to affect its life?

My second query is on how long I can use the netbook with the power cable - if using the power cable on a stretch doesn't do any harm to the battery then I'm ready to do that because it saves the battery, right? So is this safe? Please advice me because I don't want to do any damage to my new netbook.

[BuffaloHelp]

The secret to stretching the life of a battery is use it until it runs out.

In the past, the battery technology wasn't as good as today. And so you had to discharge from time to time to "clear the charging memory."

Today's batteries for laptops and netbooks are smarter and they do not need to discharge before charging completely. But, it is still considered consumable item. That means it can be charged x amount of times before requiring to replace it. Everyone knows the fresh new battery which lasted 3 hours only lasts 1 hour after 2 years (give or take few hours and months).

Don't worry about plugging in your AC adapter or running out of battery life. Use it like you own it--when the batter is low plug it in, when you want to surf without the cord use it! Know that you will eventually have to replace the battery because it's a consumable item. It will depreciate.

I've always used battery and AC because with portable computing products they perform faster when plugged in to AC.

[Baniboy]

You should have WiFi and bluetooth disabled when you don't need them, this will increase battery life.
Lower the brightness of the screen.
Have only essential processes running.
Use software that doesn't punish the CPU. Get a lite OS on it.
Tune the settings to reduce the brightness of the screen or blackout when the computer is idle.

[cons]

There is no effect/harm on your battery if you use the power cable for extended periods. In fact it prolongs your battery life because the power will mainly be from the AC outlet.

With regards to battery maintenance, make sure to otimize your netbook's power and battery management settings. Make a profile to fit your netbook usage habits.