Have you ever discovered that the battery of your notebook is almost dead an hour after takeoff? Of course, it is very irritating. You are eager to finish some important project but your notebook can’t help you. Here you will find some useful tips that will make the battery life of your notebook better.
1. Sleep mode
Power-management features of your operating system (Windows XP - under Power Options in the Control Panel; in Vista - under Mobile PC in the Control Panel) can help you to prolong the life of battery. You need to set the time for your display to get dark (for example, after five minutes of inactivity). You should also set the time for the notebook to change its mode into sleep mode (about ten minutes of inactivity). You can set the PC to hibernate, but not just sleep, after closing the lid, as well.
2. “Power Saver”
You shouldn’t think that running high-order mathematical calculations needs all the processing power your CPU can offer. So in Vista, you should find the "Power saver" power plan (that is in the Control Panel, in the Power Options section) to make your notebook’s battery life longer. Besides, try to postpone the 3D gaming for some time when you're near an AC outlet.
3. Brightness
In order to extend the life of your notebook’s battery turn down the brightness of the LCD panel (via the Function-key combo, or in the Control Panel's Display Settings dialog) as low as you can tolerate.
4. Turn off Non-Essential Components
When you don’t use the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and IR radios, you’d better turn them
off (via the hard switch, or in the appropriate utility set), so they wouldn’t try to connect, therefore your battery will remain alive longer. Additionally, use USB-attached devices
only when you extremely need them.
5. Scheduled Tasks
Make sure that your periodic virus scan won’t start running a full-disk virus check while your battery is almost dead. You should know that such programs make the hard drive and CPU fully
engaged for about an hour.
6. Multimedia
It’s OK to listen to nice music, constructing a PowerPoint presentation, but don’t forget that your battery life is not everlasting.
7. APC Universal Notebook Battery 70
Let them fight over this free AC outlet. The APC Universal Notebook Battery 70 ($149; www.apcc.com) that uses lithium polymer technology can give you additional six hours to finish your work. This device will add 1.8 pounds to the weight of your notebook… but don’t you agree that it is a much better choice than watching how your notebook’s battery is plunging towards the red zone?
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