Leave a laptop hooked up to ac power all the time?

[michaels]

Will this affect the battery? Or should I unhook it and run it until low, then hook up until charged again?

 

[SparkyJJO]

I always had mine connected to AC. I think most laptops have an auto shutoff circuit in them, so when the battery is charged it shuts down so it won't overcharge the battery.

 

[JAG87]

you need to make the battery do cycles. If you dont you will end up with a battery that doesnt hold the charge anymore. You should do one full discharge every 30 days or every 20 partial charges.

 

[KeithTalent]

Just take the battery out if you are not using it, that is what I do. No need to worry then. Obviously, just make sure the battery is charged before you go to use it again.

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
I always had mine connected to AC. I think most laptops have an auto shutoff circuit in them, so when the battery is charged it shuts down so it won't overcharge the battery.

Laptop battery chargers are fairly sophisticated devices. They absolutely can shut off current to the battery- LiIon batteries explode if overcharged.

Originally posted by: JAG87
you need to make the battery do cycles. If you dont you will end up with a battery that doesnt hold the charge anymore. You should do one full discharge every 30 days or every 20 partial charges.

Do NOT do this. Instead, leave the battery in while running the system (on AC power is fine) once in a while and let the laptop's hardware take care of it.