Laptop Battery Life

[Stephen]

I noticed something weird with my laptop that I got yesterday. The battery doesn't hold a charge for very long at all. It'll last about an hour, and then I have to hook it up to my charger to charge it up again. Why does it do this, and is it possible to make it last longer?

[lfmusiclover]

Nope, that's about normal.  8)

[Stephen]

Nope, that's about normal.  8)

Really? I thought laptop batteries could go up to 2-3 hours on one charge. Then again, I've never owned a laptop before, so I'm not an expert at this.

[beanboy89]

In Vista, if you click the battery icon in the system tray, you can set it to "Power Saver" to save some battery life. There is also a link on that popup for the "Windows Mobility Center" there you can set things like the Display Brightness. If you put that on the lowest setting when on battery power, you can save some battery life because the LCD back-lightning doesn't have to be on full-strength.

Also, you can change some power things in Control Panel > Power Settings. There you can change around all of the power settings, again like display brightness, when the computer goes to sleep, and when the computer display shuts off.

Also, if you don't need to be online when on battery power, some laptops have the option to turn off the wireless signal; wireless uses a lot of power.

[lfmusiclover]

Nope, that's about normal.  8)

Really? I thought laptop batteries could go up to 2-3 hours on one charge. Then again, I've never owned a laptop before, so I'm not an expert at this.

You'd be lucky to get three hours out of any battery. 2 is a possibility, but 1 is the norm. That's why when I use mine around the house I use an AC adapter as opposed to the battery.


One tip though: are you certain your charging the battery 100% fully? you've always got to do that to maximize the battery.

[Stephen]

In Vista, if you click the battery icon in the system tray, you can set it to "Power Saver" to save some battery life. There is also a link on that popup for the "Windows Mobility Center" there you can set things like the Display Brightness. If you put that on the lowest setting when on battery power, you can save some battery life because the LCD back-lightning doesn't have to be on full-strength.

Also, you can change some power things in Control Panel > Power Settings. There you can change around all of the power settings, again like display brightness, when the computer goes to sleep, and when the computer display shuts off.

Also, if you don't need to be online when on battery power, some laptops have the option to turn off the wireless signal; wireless uses a lot of power.

Thanks for those tips, Billy.

One tip though: are you certain your charging the battery 100% fully? you've always got to do that to maximize the battery.

Nope, but very close, around 98 or 99 percent.

[lfmusiclover]

In Vista, if you click the battery icon in the system tray, you can set it to "Power Saver" to save some battery life. There is also a link on that popup for the "Windows Mobility Center" there you can set things like the Display Brightness. If you put that on the lowest setting when on battery power, you can save some battery life because the LCD back-lightning doesn't have to be on full-strength.

Also, you can change some power things in Control Panel > Power Settings. There you can change around all of the power settings, again like display brightness, when the computer goes to sleep, and when the computer display shuts off.

Also, if you don't need to be online when on battery power, some laptops have the option to turn off the wireless signal; wireless uses a lot of power.

Thanks for those tips, Billy.

One tip though: are you certain your charging the battery 100% fully? you've always got to do that to maximize the battery.

Nope, but very close, around 98 or 99 percent.

That extra percent won't make much difference in terms of extending the legnth of time your battery can run, BUT you do need to charge all the way to 100 percent EVERY TIME, because partial charges (even to 98%) will KILL that battery in the blink of an eye.

[wxmancanada]

When ever I get a new laptop from ITS I completly drain the battery, and then completly charge it. That gets me usualy an hour to 45 minutes of extra time.

[furball]

As with all Lithium batteries (commonly found in Cell Phones, Cordless Phones, rechargable batteries, etc.), the more you "Plug in" and "un-plug", the more it decreases the battery life, as opposed to using the battery until it completely drains out each time.

Its recommended that you Calibrate your battery every month or so. You can do this by using your computer on battery power until the computer shuts off by itself. Then, plug in the power cord but DO NOT TURN ON THE COMPUTER and let it charge COMPLETELY with the computer off. (Repeat the steps above if desired). It should then work more efficiently.

[Al]

Our school laptops seem to last a good 2-3 hours.

[furball]

I figured that i would mention that 12-Cell batteries commonly last 8 hours (approximately)...

[Mike M]

My laptop battery holds anywhere from a two to four hour charge, so there must be something wrong with your battery. One hour is way too short.

[lfmusiclover]

I doubt there's anythign wrong with it. He probably just needs to drain it completley and then charge it completley, and then charge it completely every time he has to recharge it. But also be sure that the battery is fully drained before charging it fully.

[Localonthe8s]

My Sony Vaio laptop stays charged for about 1:30 to 2 hours. There must be something wrong in my battery as well.

[lfmusiclover]

Trust me, there's nothing wrong with it. Nor is there anything wrong with Stephen's.