| Some of you might have got in a rage when in a very important instant when you were working or expecting an urgent e-mail, your laptop switched off, because its battery had discharged. In this case the battery requires replacing or re-charging.
There are 3 major kinds of laptop batteries - Nickel Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (LiON). They differ from each other in cost, weight and specific characteristics. Yet, the charging procedures have much in common. All brand new batteries are to be charged no less than 14-16 hours. If you are going to re-charge old ones, primarily let them cool down, because overcharging can decrease their life. When exploiting NiMH batteries, remember they have the so-called "memory effect". Thus, when a NiMH laptop battery is not discharged to the fullest, it will "think" that it has, for instance 50% of its original capacity, and will use only this 50%, threfore, decreasing the amount of time during which your laptop work properly.
Laptop batteries are re-charged differently. The first method is when you use AC power. The so-called "trickle charge" automatically re-charges batteries as soon as a laptop is disconnected. The second alternative is by using an external battery charger. All you need to do is to insert batteries into a charger that is plugged into an outlet.
Batteries' life can also be prolonged if:
- you charge and discharge laptop batteries to the fullest;
- you have only those programs on at a time that you really need. Downloading music to your iPod, searching on the Net, chatting online along with using other programs can considerably shorten battery's life.
- you exploit batteries' power rationally;
- you defragment the hard drive now and again, since it helps spare space and, hence, power;
- you make adjustments to monitor brightness;
- you use cooling devices (widely available on the market) for the laptop temperature to meet the established limits;
- you use AC adapters whenever possible.
Naturally, it is absolutely necessary to exploit a laptop and its various energy devices according to the manual to ensure your laptop will help you longer. |
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