15 Ways to Increase Laptop Battery Life

Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:32PM EDT

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While laptop chips have become better and better at saving power, other changes, like more powerful laptop graphics cards, faster hard drives, and Windows Vista, have erased many of those gains.

So, you'll need to take it upon yourself to improve your laptop's battery life if you really want to go the extra mile. And while that can be a confusing and tricky process, this blog post offers some helpful advice so you don't have to go it alone. Among the 15 suggestions offered at Friedbeef's Tech (hey, I didn't name it), here are the ones that will really impact your battery the most.

Add more RAM - More RAM means the computer will access the hard drive less frequently, and the hard drive uses much more power than your RAM sticks. 

Dim your screen - Those big, "ultra-bright" displays really suck down the power. Dimming your screen just 20 percent can add a good chunk of time to your battery life.

Unplug external devices - Anything plugged in via USB, FireWire, or PC Card/ExpressCard draws power from your computer. Yes, even your mouse. And of course, turn off your Wi-Fi radio when you don't need it.

Minimize CD/DVD use - Optical drives are probably the worst offender on your notebook when it comes to battery use. Unless you're watching a movie, don't even leave a disc in the optical drive, as Windows loves to occasionally read it, just to check on things...

The post doesn't exactly mention it, but don't forget about the Power Options control panel in Windows, which will let you manage hard drive auto-spin-down, screen brightness, and other settings in one central location. It's a great first place to start... then check out Friedbeef's 11 other tips!

LINK: Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop's Battery Life 

UPDATE: Looks like y'all killed the poor site. Here's a cached version 

Comments on 15 Ways to Increase Laptop Battery Life

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  • 67 Posted by monkeyduque66 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    I was told that for these types of batteries, its good to run them down completely every so ofter. I have a MacBook and I found that if I had it connected from the time I turned it on, it would not always get a full charge, 90% max. opposed to if I let the battery run below 40%, I would get a full charge.

  • 68 Posted by monkeyduque66 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    I was told that for these types of batteries, its good to run them down completely every so ofter. I have a MacBook and I found that if I had it connected from the time I turned it on, it would not always get a full charge, 90% max. opposed to if I let the battery run below 40%, I would get a full charge.

  • 69 Posted by a_1982_freeman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Stuff I already knew....I don't like bright screens anyway. The glare hurts the heck out of my eyes.

  • 70 Posted by tahoe61@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ni-Cad (nickel cadmium) batteries do have "memory" effect and should be fully discharged before recharged. Ni-Cads are not common in laptops now. Lithium-Ion batteries (the most-common now in laptops) do not have "memory" like Ni-Cad but other postings are correct: (1.) Remove the battery when fully charged. (2.) Do not leave a battery discharged.

  • 72 Posted by zoebjuan on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    The 4 tips were helpful. Would have liked to see the other 11 but the link provided did not work.

  • 73 Posted by j2003nj on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    I do not think that would kill your battery completely. I use my computer a lot for school and I have drained it more than 10 times and its still good.

  • 74 Posted by bonnie19502000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you leave your computer plugged in all the time, is it better to remove the battery? I don't want to harm the battery by overcharging it.

  • 76 Posted by cep_ea on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    The link to the "Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop's Battery Life" did not work. Would like to have them posted when the problem is fixed.

  • 77 Posted by lumpymullet on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Lithium Ion batteries have no memory effect. You can charge them anytime and the computer automatically stops charging when full to prevent overcharging the battery.

  • 79 Posted by alejanndro629 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    i have a increse of batery life of 40% more time by turning down the bright of the screen nice ;)

  • 80 Posted by gregwgl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    It is always great for technology to become better and better even if you are not in tune on how it is comparitively better than the originally. It still might in some event make you happier. It's those little differences that can define a whole product. Soon they might even make laptops with circular screens.

  • 81 Posted by sdhallor on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    Forget the laptop. Who's the girl in the photo?

  • 82 Posted by gotspeed1212 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    i love hearing people talking about stuff they don't know about. i have raced hobby type rc cars that are upwards of 500$ to 1000$ dollars and the battery's can be 45$ to 200$ lithium ion and NICad they can be run all the way down to nothing but the charger needs to see a voltage when it sends a little charge if it doesn't see a voltage it wont charge the rc charges do it and my girlfriends hp that she ran the batter so low it wouldn't charge after pulling it in and unplugging it for 30 or so times it started charging again and was fine. some of the other things when your batter is hot it loses more power faster the cooler you can keep your laptop(not on your lap or in the carpet) the cooler you can keep it the longer the charge will last when plugged in the ac adapter can power the laptop and wont over charge your laptop batter i have a dell D600 and it is always plugged in and has about 2:30 hours of batter on a 4 year old battery you have to run it all the way down and charge it all the way back up about once every week. to refre----- so its ready to go on the run also look at what your using when unplugged turn off your virus scanner when not online don't move big files around and try to use as little cpu power as you can. i have even heard of typing in notepad and copy pasting in to word when you have a power source. put it in stand by if you walk away from it for any more then a minute. i pull my dvd drive complete out when unplugged. some days at school over 6 hours only changing it at lunch(well on stand by) i could go the whole day not having to plug in to change in a class im only 18 but have always been in to computers if you want some more tips check out twit.tv dl.tv both really good sources for tech info. or im me on aim gotspeed1212 if i am not there it will go to my laptop thats always on (may or may not) be online but most of the time it is online

  • 83 Posted by kayetch on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    Li-ion charge retention ability diminishes drastically as the temp heats up. Most makers of battery powered devices would include such advice in their usermanual--which nobody reads. So, never leave your laptop in a parked car under the direct summer heat or if you live in the tropics

  • 84 Posted by tahoe61@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    More on Posting #79: (3) Heat is the enemy of any type battery. (4) Never freeze any type battery. HOWEVER, regular flashlight batteries (carbon-zinc) and alkaline batteries will keep longer if stored in a refrigerator (not freezer). All batteries are a chemical reaction and begin dying from the day they're born... Keeping batteries in cool storage slows that chemical reaction (which is why some batteries do not perform well when too cold).

  • 85 Posted by soylentgringa on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not only did the link not work, but the article headline was misleading. The article is not about "laptop battery life" but rather about "battery life of laptops running Windows Vista," which isn't particularly relevant to Mac users.

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