Running off mains - should I take battery out?

Bogof_Babe

Further to my thread about my laptop dying, it seems using it constantly on mains power might have contributed to the battery failing.

Determined not to let the same thing happen with my new one, so could anyone advise whether, when I am running it from the mains, should I remove the battery from the machine? I'm sure something was mentioned about this while I was purchasing it but can't remember what.

I'm not even sure it would still work like that, as the power socket on the laptop is right next to where the battery sits.

Any tips on prolonging laptop/battery life will be gratefully appreciated.

Lil306

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Further to my thread about my laptop dying, it seems using it constantly on mains power might have contributed to the battery failing.

Determined not to let the same thing happen with my new one, so could anyone advise whether, when I am running it from the mains, should I remove the battery from the machine? I'm sure something was mentioned about this while I was purchasing it but can't remember what.

I'm not even sure it would still work like that, as the power socket on the laptop is right next to where the battery sits.

Any tips on prolonging laptop/battery life will be gratefully appreciated.

Generally with good maintenance there should be no reason why you can't leave the battery in, but if you're going to use it on the mains 99% of the time just remove the battery and every now and then use the battery.... let it fully drain then recharge

As for maintenance..... and battery life
- If you're using XP, etc look up how to calibrate your battery, either in BIOS or power options. If it's Vista you do this by a power scheme

- When using the battery, let the laptop fully drain of all power until it switches off, then plug in the mains and let it charge up fully then let it drain again... this will let the battery "learn" it's life span

BTW, haven't read your other post, but sometimes you can force your battery to be recognise again by the laptop by powering up laptop on mains only (no battery), then physically installing the battery when it's powered up and working.. I did this once and a dead battery was recognised again and started working (netbook)....

Although, health and safety don't generally go hand in hand with me, so don't take that part as advice

Bogof_Babe

Thank you, that was quick!

This is a netbook too, and it's on Windows 7. I had it on mains (with battery in situ) all day then at about 6.00 p.m. I unplugged the mains lead and have been running the battery down since then - apparently there's only about half an hour left.

So if I leave it overnight connected to the mains but with the machine turned off (i.e. black screen) will it still pick up charge so long as the power supply is on?

Sorry to be a bit thick, this sort of thing always confuses me.

Lil306

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Thank you, that was quick!

This is a netbook too, and it's on Windows 7. I had it on mains (with battery in situ) all day then at about 6.00 p.m. I unplugged the mains lead and have been running the battery down since then - apparently there's only about half an hour left.

So if I leave it overnight connected to the mains but with the machine turned off (i.e. black screen) will it still pick up charge so long as the power supply is on?

Sorry to be a bit thick, this sort of thing always confuses me.

Yeah, I'm just mooching forums for a short while..

I can't comment regarding Windows 7 and power schemes, honestly don't know if they're based like Vista or if you can calibrate the batteries.

I tested the netbooks at the University (switch on, not doing anything) and they lasted around 2.5 hrs, so using them will generally be around 1hr or so under heavy usage...

Regarding the battery / mains query, I'd do this...

• Unplug the lead, let the battery empty itself and laptop shutdown completely (ignore the low battery rubbish) - Take out the battery
• Plug laptop in mains, switch it on
• Insert the battery (if it's a netbook it slides on the back) well.... the brown Acer ones did plug it in and let the laptop detect it
• Let the battery fully charge up when it registers as full, yank the power cable and let it drain again fully. Then it should be calibrated

Sometimes you may need to clean the electrical contacts too with an electrical contact cleaner that leaves no residue.. it's called something like Isoproyl contact cleaner, you can get them in places like halfords for £5.

I'll have a look around since I don't use Windows7 so not 100% sure about calibration of them, but you generally check the power options in the control panel which is different to XP....

What model of Netbook do you have btw?

Bogof_Babe

Wow, that sounds horrendously complicated :eek:. I might have pre-empted now as a low battery message flashed up saying either plug back into the mains or shut down to let battery charge up. Anyhow as you can tell I haven't shut it down even though I've plugged the mains lead in. Hope that won't do any lasting damage on this occasion!

It's a Sony VPCM11M1E/B, if that means anything to anyone! The sales guy in PC World recommended it, and as I know nothing about them I thought I might as well take his word for it.

Lil306

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Wow, that sounds horrendously complicated :eek:. I might have pre-empted now as a low battery message flashed up saying either plug back into the mains or shut down to let battery charge up. Anyhow as you can tell I haven't shut it down even though I've plugged the mains lead in. Hope that won't do any lasting damage on this occasion!

It's a Sony VPCM11M1E/B, if that means anything to anyone! The sales guy in PC World recommended it, and as I know nothing about them I thought I might as well take his word for it.

Re: Sony - it's just a Sony VAIO netbook.... nothing to worry about

Re: PC world - meh, don't take their word for it, mostly idiots

When you received the low battery message, you should not plug it in mains and just let it switch off. Then, remove battery, connect up mains and switch it on. When laptop switched on, plug in battery and leave it to charge.... then unplug mains and leave it until it's low and just plug in again..

Sounds confusing but it's not really, I've worded it above to try and make it easier to understand.

Calibrating batteries is the better option, but I'll have to look into that, it effectively does what I mentioned above (discharge, recharge, discharge) to get the battery going again

AHAR

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

So if I leave it overnight connected to the mains but with the machine turned off (i.e. black screen) will it still pick up charge so long as the power supply is on?

Yes, it'll charge up whether it's running or not.
Apparently a battery's condition will degrade more quickly the higher it's charge level and the higher the temperature - just the conditions you'll get whilst using mains power with the battery inserted.

If you leave a laptop battery out of the computer for a very long time it will gradually flatten by itself and may eventually reach a state from which it can no longer be recharged, so avoid that also.

More information here:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Bogof_Babe

You've been a star tonight, thank you so much for taking the time and trouble.

I think I'll now switch it off, leaving the mains cable plugged in, and in the morning I should hopefully find it's full again, then I'll spend the day on battery only, and repeat the process. I think that's what you're telling me to do. To late now to do it in the correct order as it's already back up to 24% charged.

I was just a bit worried because once I've switched off I won't be able to see the little battery icon to know whether it actually is charging. I guess I'll find that out in the morning!

Bogof_Babe

AHAR wrote: »

Yes, it'll charge up whether it's running or not.
Apparently a battery's condition will degrade more quickly the higher it's charge level and the higher the temperature - just the conditions you'll get whilst using mains power with the battery inserted.

If you leave a laptop battery out of the computer for a very long time it will gradually flatten by itself and may eventually reach a state from which it can no longer be recharged, so avoid that also.

More information here:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Sorry I nearly missed seeing your message AHAR. Just popped back to see if any further updates 'cos I tried to explain it to my husband and got confused again!

Sounds like it's a bit of a minefield to get it totally right. I think I'll have to apply myself to it after a decent night's sleep!

Thanks again both of you.

AHAR

I was trying to say that the best thing for your battery may be to take it out and use the mains only when it's available.

There should be an LED on the laptop which will change colour or stop flashing etc. to signal when the battery is fully charged. Even if you leave it plugged in to the mains it can sense when the battery is 'full' and will stop trying to charge it up any further.

totalsolutions

Just to remind you, mains failure lost work. Pull out power lead just the same, you can also corrupt the PC hard drive. Your laptop, leave the battery alone and buy another when required.