Conditioning a laptop battery

[Kwad Guy]

When the performance of my laptop batteries starts to go south, I try to recondition them by going into the BIOS and running the disc check utility from there until the battery gives out. THen I recharge. I find that this can bring a LOT more life into a battery...

However, it's kind of a pain. Especially if I have to cycle more than once.

Is there a good utility for conditioning your laptop battery?

Kwad

 

[deathwalker]

Almost all new batteries in laptops are Lithium ion........unlike the old Nicad's these do not require conditioning...contrary to the wives tales that float around saying they do. That being said...I have no clue what you battery is. If it is a old laptop/old battery (Nicad) condtioning does help to maintain battery life and strength. I am not aware of any utility for assisting in the conditioning process. Lithium ion batteries only a proper full charge to start with..if you are having trouble with a LO battery you do not have many user remedies. Make sure if you replace it, do so with a name brand not cheap aftermarket knockoff.

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: deathwalker
Almost all new batteries in laptops are Lithium ion........unlike the old Nicad's these do not require conditioning...contrary to the wives tales that float around saying they do. That being said...I have no clue what you battery is. If it is a old laptop/old battery (Nicad) condtioning does help to maintain battery life and strength. I am not aware of any utility for assisting in the conditioning process. Lithium ion batteries only a proper full charge to start with..if you are having trouble with a LO battery you do not have many user remedies. Make sure if you replace it, do so with a name brand not cheap aftermarket knockoff.

I'm having problems with my HP, and they said to run it all the way down, then charge it...They won't replace any batteries unless they fail their little "battery check", which is crap anyways...

 

[corkyg]

The purpose of the full charge then run down is basically to calibrate the laptop's battery gauge. With Lithium ion batteries, conditioning is not that important. But - that procedure calibrates your laptop so it knows better what the percentage of power left is for the gauge in the tray.

 

[Kwad Guy]

Originally posted by: corkyg
The purpose of the full charge then run down is basically to calibrate the laptop's battery gauge. With Lithium ion batteries, conditioning is not that important. But - that procedure calibrates your laptop so it knows better what the percentage of power left is for the gauge in the tray.

Yes, this is correct and I should have been more clear in my original post. The batteries I am "conditioning" these days are all LI, and the "conditioning" cycle (run down the rejuice) is to basically recalibrate. That said, I've found that if I do this twice in a row, the battery capacity will increase a bit more on the second cycle, so there does appear to be a bit of actual conditioning involved.

Kwad

 

[corkyg]

It can also be getting a more accurate reading. But - if it helps - do it. I do it about once every 4-5 months.