extending the life of your laptop battery

[tuongo]

Hi guys,

I have an Inspiron 1100. On my other laptop (old old Thinkpad) , I keep it plugged it day and night, and the battery only lasts about 30 minutes now when I unplug).

What's the best way to keep my Inspiron battery in top shape? My friend suggested leaving the battery out while i'm using AC power, and when I use the battery, use it until it's empty then recharge.

Leaving it out is pretty inconvenient, since and I don't think it's safe to put the battery in while the laptop is still on (am I wrong?). I'd try it this way if there isn't danger of surge when i re-insert the battery while the laptop is still on.

The next best solution is to always be on battery power, and recharge when necessary (but doesn't this kill the life of the batter, since they have limited recharges?)

Any other suggestions?

 

[elzmaddy]

No suggestions for you, but I would like to hear from others too.

 

[corkyg]

Of course, batteries should be removed and replaced only when the laptop is powered down. That's what on/off switches are for. Also, it is a good idea to run the battery calibration/gas gauge program every few months. That is done with a fully charged battery - and activated in BIOS. It runs the battery down to zero and gives you a de facto life in hours and minutes. Then you fully recharge it.

Most makers suggest removing the battery when on A/C power for an extended period of time.

 

[elzmaddy]

If you're using Windows, I think it must be okay to click on that tray icon for connected devices and tell Windows that you want to disconnect your battery (sorry I forgot what it is called). Then the laptop will go into standby mode and you can safely disconnect it (i think)... right?

 

[zephyrprime]

As far as I know, batteries can be replaced while the laptop is on. Many laptops have an additional battery in them that provides power for the brief period of time so that it's possible to swap batteries.

The battery on your Thinkpad needs to be replaced. The way to keep the battery in shape is indeed to keep it out of the computer while you're on AC. Relying on battery power all the time will shorten the life of your battery much faster than the constant trickle charging you've been subjecting your battery to. On newer machines, it would be unnecessay to take the battery out as they have computer smart chargers.