basic laptop questions

Re: basic laptop questions


Noel, I can only speak from my own laptop experience (my laptop died after 5 years of intensive use): my laptop battery never wore out; all those years it only got used maybe a total of 1 hour.

And no, you don't want to leave your laptop on (it gets really hot), although possibly the "hibernate" function wouldn't be as iffy (I never used that because I try to keep my electric bill as low as possible).

hmm...well that explains why my laptop crashed the other day, thanks funster.....lesson learned....Never leave laptop on for days and days......

Glad you asked Noel...Welcome to a2k!

Re: basic laptop questions

Yes. In fact, it will wear out faster that way. For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery (which just about all laptops have used for years now), it's important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Generally, it's best to charge and discharge a laptop battery at least once per month. If you don't plan on using your laptop for 6 months or more, the battery should be removed and stored with about a 50% charge (note that this is the state batteries are shipped in).


No more so than with desktop PCs, as far as I'm aware. The merits of shutting down PCs semi-regularly are debatable. ...It doesn't really matter all that much either way, as long as the computer isn't too hot and you're not repeatedly turning it fully on and off every couple minutes (which is not ideal).



While your battery may have fared exceptionally well, odds are that if the laptop only ever ran on battery power for one hour you weren't really aware of how much of its ability to hold a charge it had lost.

if it's not in use, hibernation is preferable to leaving it on, if only to save electricity. i think funster confused hibernate with suspend, which does use a little power. hibernate doesn't use power, but takes longer to "wake up" than suspend.

Hmm...interesting......

No doubt I did, LOL! I never can keep them straight. Thanx, YW!

thanks for the tip monger, Im draining my battery to 50% as we speak and having it stored.

thanks!

"If you don't plan on using your laptop for 6 months or more, the battery should be removed and stored with about a 50% charge (note that this is the state batteries are shipped in). "


Well, let me think about this, I AM going to be using the laptop a lot, just not on battery power (on plug power). Do you think I should remove the battery and store at 50% or keep the battery in and recharge once a month thing?


Also, I have a Lithium Ion battery (if that makes any difference) I hear these types of batteries don't have that 'memory effect', does this mean the whole recharging once a month deal doesnt apply in this case?

I've had two laptops and had great experiences with both batteries. Even when I can have it plugged in, I'll unplug it for a little while, and sometimes completely discharge it.