What are the characteristics and features of a laptop battery and how do we have to treat it in order to have a long lasting battery life?
Let's take an example a common Toshiba Equium M50, PA 3399U 1BRS Li-ion 10.8 Volt battery taken out of a functioning Toshiba Equium M50 164 laptop.
The capacity is 4400 Mah and there are six cells in it. This new Toshiba battery holds around 3 hours on an average power settings, it may differ depending upon the work load. The Lithium-Ion type already suggests that it is light and does not overheat even at 180 degrees, because of a new type of polymer used.
Here is some advice on using it longer and to the maximum performance.
if you bought a new laptop with a new battery do a simple calibration. In other words plug the computer with the Toshiba battery inside to a power source and charge it at least 5 hours to the absolute max. Afterwards, use the laptop until the battery completely looses all the power and be sure to save your documents, once the low battery alert appears. When your computer shuts down due to a battery discharge, plug it in AC adapter and charge it to the maximum again. This charge and discharge process must be repeated three times. This way your battery will be fully prepared to work. Besides, the software that controls the charge status will be more accurate in measuring the charging and discharging.
if your TOSHIBA PA3284U-1BAS Laptop Battery holds only 10 15 minutes maybe it's time to buy a new one.