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How to preserve the laptop battery

stefano
stefano Posts: 949 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Just a quick question, what is the best way to preserve and prolong the life of a laptop battery?

Comments

  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    Don't overheat it, remove it when there's long periods running on mains and every few weeks/once a month, run it completely down.
  • fwor
    fwor Posts: 6,872 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 27 August 2010 at 2:37PM
    Hammyman wrote: »
    every few weeks/once a month, run it completely down.

    If it's LiIon or LiPol, ~never~ run it completely flat if you can avoid it. Unlike older technologies, they have no "memory effect", so it does them no good whatsoever - and a full recharge (as opposed to a partial one) generally gets it hotter, reducing its lifespan.
  • stefano
    stefano Posts: 949 Forumite
    It's a Li Ion battery, so which is the most effective way?
  • nottseagull
    nottseagull Posts: 300 Forumite
    edited 27 August 2010 at 5:21PM
    Hammyman wrote: »
    Don't overheat it, remove it when there's long periods running on mains and every few weeks/once a month, run it completely down.
    He means then recharge it straight away; batteries should only be stored in a charged state (and not in a very cold place in winter).
  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    Yeah, sorry I should've explained it better. Run it until it gets to zero or 1% in windows, not flat flat. Thanks one and all for correcting me. :D
  • Richie-from-the-Boro
    Richie-from-the-Boro Posts: 6,945 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    - laptop [ Li-ion ] battery maintenance, partial discharges / and charges are much better for the battery's life than complete drains
    - Windows in general and Win7 in particular tell lies about battery condition, sometimes forcing a shutdown
    - Battery Care will tell you the truth about your battery

    There is a Win7 thread here with much more info / opinion

    Hope this helps !
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
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