subject: Get More From Your Laptop Battery [print this page] When on the go, it can be a struggle finding anywhere to recharge your laptop battery. Any power points at a hotel or airport are usually already in use and you may not even have an adapter handy. Because of this we have compiled a list of useful tips that you should put into practice that will help your laptop battery last for an extended period of time. Alternate between the power sources of the laptop. Avoid running it off the battery or adapter 100% of the time. Use each method at least once a week.
Look over the power options in the Control Panel of the computer. Set the choices to a setting that will turn off the screen and place the computer in sleep mode within 10 minutes of not being used.
Disable the Wi-Fi feature when Internet is not being used on the computer. The wireless network card can also be deactivated at this time. Keeping these on will allow the computer to periodically search for Internet service, pointlessly wasting the battery power.
Choose a high quality battery. Cheap batteries that provide a lower power capacity tend to stop working faster than a high capacity one.
Reduce the brightness of the screen as low as possible. This can be changed depending on your location however you should never use the full brightness setting if you wish to conserve the battery.
Limit the amount of time you spend listening to music or playing computer games etc. Both of these activities can drain a laptop battery quickly. Also, muting the speakers when you are on a website that contains audio is also helpful.
Recharge the battery frequently. You should put it on the charger before it is completely drained. Allowing it to go no less than 10% of power left will allow it to last much longer.
Do not allow programs to run when they are not needed. Messengers, media players, and anti-virus software can all eat at the life of the battery. Turn these off or exit out of them as often as possible.
Copy any programs that normally use a CD to run straight to your hard drive. This will use less power when the laptop can automatically run the program rather than waiting to be able to read the disc from the CD-ROM.
Remove all external equipment when you are not using it. For example use the touch pad to control the cursor rather than an external mouse.
Making small adjustments to the way you use your laptop can contribute significantly to a longer battery life. Practice these techniques when you are unable to charge your battery for an extended period of time so that you will be able to lengthen the battery life of your laptop.
