The movable computing has improved over the years with light components, improved chips and quicker processors. But the issue for the battery remains. So in this article we will see some of the ways to improve the battery life of a laptop.
Remember the new graphic intensive OS’s and the applications looking for resources are lowering the battery life of your laptop every day. The average battery life still is three to four hours. So a quick diminishing battery could put a damper on your road trip. There are several ways of keeping the battery alive for longer duration rather than having to carry extra set of batteries. Here are some:
1. Defragmentation:
A regular defrag definitely helps to arrange the data in order resulting in the hard drive working less to access it. As faster the hard drive works less will be the load on the battery. This results in longer battery life though the effect is not much however the efficiency is hand in hand with the hard drive maintenance.
2. Stop the not required processes:
End the background processes that are not required. If you are on the internet, close the applications that are not necessary like anti virus and the firewall. Remove the unnecessary applications which are running as start ups. Unchecked the applications you do not need and restart the computer.
3. Schedule the tasks:
Make sure the scheduled tasks are scheduled for a time when you are not on road. Otherwise just negates these.
4. Remove the external devices:
USB’s are the biggest power eaters. Remove all external devices such as Wi-Fi, PC cards, mouse, Blue tooth or an iPod.
5. Remove the CD/DVD from the drives:
Unless you want to use ir, remove the CD/DVD from the drives. A drive in use eats up a lot of battery.
6. Use local drives:
Do not use external drives while on the batteries. Shift the data to a hard drive or use the virtual drives.
7. Reduce brightness of the screen:
The LCD screen of the laptop is a big power eater. Bring the brightness to lower level which is tolerable.
8. Mute the speakers:
Make the speakers mute and do not use the multimedia software to improve the life of the battery. Installed sound schemes sink the battery.
9. Remove the screen saver:
To improve the life of the battery, turn off the screen saver.
10. Look at power management options:
Introduce yourself to the power management options via “Power Options” applet in the control panel. Xp and Vista have the modern power management options and they switch off the monitor or hard drive after some intervals. Again this depends on the options set in the “Power schemes”. For example you can select the “Max Battery” option for the XP and “Mobile PC” for Vista for the battery optimization.
11. Switch off the good looks features:
The modern OS’s come with advanced features such as “Aero Glass” which also is a big battery sinker. Turn it off and go to the classic look. Linux and Mac are better served for a lengthier battery life.
12. Use the hibernate option rather than Sleep:
During the sleep mode the computer turns off the hard drive and the monitor however the memory remains active and CPU slows down. This uses up the battery. As against this the Hibernate option saves the state and closes completely so saves power.
13. Work on less number of programs:
Working on too many programs at the same time is a battery sinker. Minimize the use of graphic intensive programs. Working on spreadsheet consumes less as compared to playing a game. Have only one or two programs open at the same time.
14. Adequate RAM:
Sufficient memory reduces the load on virtual memory. Remember the extra RAM increases the power consumption but also increases the saving by cutting off the access to hard drive.
15. Keep the laptop clean:
Keep the air vents of the laptop clean by cleaning them regularly. Keep the laptop clean and avoid dust.
16. Temperature a silent killer:
Excess heat kills the battery surely. Don’t use the machine under the sun or a closed car. Keep the battery in a cold place with 40 % charging as much as possible. Of course this means that you cannot use it much and its capability is going down steadily. To improve the life while actually using the laptop, keep the battery at 40 % when using the machine for longer time from your house, and carry it with you while being mobile. What makes this a not so good idea is that there is inconvenience and the danger of pulling the plug when you don’t have the battery. Unfortunately it is not possible to reuse the lithium-ion battery. A slight improvement in performance can be seen when the battery heats up. But this quickly goes back to the first state. If you run the laptop on mains it also heats up the machine to 45 degrees.
17. Keep the memory effect away:
Memory effect is concerned with the battery charge loss due to a repeated recharging of the battery. This can be avoided by allowing the battery to discharge completely and then recharge it. This is a problem faced by Ni-MH batteries and not the Li-Ion batteries.
18. Use latest drivers and software:
As the later versions of the software and drivers are more proficient you can use them.
19. Correct adapter:
Ensure that the adapter used is original and is of the right specifications. An incorrect wattage mismatch could result in overload.
20. Pack it when not in use:
If you don’t want to use the laptop for some time make sure that charging is 40 % and remove the battery and keep it in cool place. A common lithium ion battery has a life of 2 to 3 years.
21. Age:
It is a known fact that lithium ion degrades up to 20 % every year whether it is used or not.
These are the Few Easy 20ways to improve the battery life of Laptop by Nbbatt.com
