Archive for the ‘Laptop Battery Tips’ Category
April 12th, 2009 | 
Author: Your laptop battery is influenced by many factors, including age, environmental conditions and frequency of use. If the your laptop battery is losing its charge faster than it used to, the battery is probably dying and you will need to replace the laptop battery.
Each laptop battery has a finite number of cycles that it can be charged and discharged. The number of cycles can be anywhere from a low of around 300 to a high of about 1200. However, 500 charging cycles is pretty typical for most standard laptop batteries. Battery performance begins to deteriorate once this maximum number of charge cycles has been reached.
The laptop battery's ability to power the laptop comuter will depend on several factors, most notably the hardware that is installed in the laptop and the number and complexity of the software applications that are being used. Generally speaking, the battery shoulld be able to power the computer for two to three hours before it needs to be recharged. As previously stated, battery life is dependent on the number of cycles that the battery is charged and discharged. This will translate to a normal bettery lifetime of about 1.5 - 2 years. When the laptop battery has reached the end of its useful life, you must find a replacement laptop battery for your cpmputer.
The following steps are a summary of what needs to be done to replace your laptop battery.
- Buy a New Battery - Make sure you purchase a replacement that is compatible with your laptop.
- Unpack the New Battery - Remove all packaging material and keep have the new battery ready to be popped in immediately.
- Undock Laptop - If your laptop is connected to a docking device, you need to unlock it before attempting to replace the battery.
- Turn Off Laptop - You may not want to lose any files you are working on or risk corruption of software, so it may be better to turn off the laptop.
- Unplug AC Power/Internet Connection - It is a good practice to disconnect your laptop from the AC outlet, Internet and Telephone before replacing the battery.
- Flip the Laptop Over - Most laptops have the battery release mechanism on the underside of the laptop. If you are not sure where you should look you can refer to the documentation of the laptop or have Technical support guide you.
- Unlock and Remove Old Battery - Laptop batteries usually use a two-step locking mechanism, first there are latches that need to be released and then a sliding motion has to be performed to release it completely. Your documentation can be invaluable in this.
- Position New Battery - Follow the reverse process for fixing the new battery. First slide and then latch the new battery. If the latches get stuck, you may need to adjust the positioning.
- Charge Battery - Bring laptop to usual position; replace all the cables that you disconnected earlier, including the AC power. Charge your battery for the duration specified by the manufacturer before using it.
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Replacement laptop batteries and OEM laptop batteries provide the electrical energy that powers your laptop or notebook computer. Laptop battery use a combination of cells that are electrochemically active and provide an electromotive force by the movement of electrons from one battery terminal to the other.
NiCad batteries are one of the oldest technologies used for OEM and replacement laptop batteries. However, although this technology is used in rechargeable devices for mechanical devides, it is not used in today's replacement laptop batteries. NiCad batteries are heavy compared to todays laptop and notebook batteries and have a poor power to weight ratio. NiCad laptop batteries are also subject to memory effect. The NiCad batteries also are manufactured with heavy metals, and are difficult to dispose of in an environmentally friendly manner.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries succeeded NiCad batteries in laptop computer use. They are less prone to memory effects and the offer a better power to weight ratio than NiCad batteries. However, NiMH battery technology has, for the most part, been discontinued for the manufacture of replacement laptop batteries.
Today, most OEM and replacement laptop battery manufacturers employ Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) technology. Since they are relatively light compared to their power, they are also commonly found in cell phones and digital cameras and camcorders. Li-Ion batteries do not suffer from the memory effect phenomenom and are easier to dispose of than the older technologies. However, these batteries tend to lose their power charge quickly when then are near the end of their useful life, so consider this a warning that a replacement laptop battery will soon be required if you find that your laptop battery will not hold its charge.
Your laptop computer battery's life will vary depending on how your laptop comuter is configured and used. Operating time can be expanded by adjusting the screen's brightness to a lower level, disabling unused peripheral devices and exiting any unused software applications. Most laptop computer's have a software utility to adjust the computer's laptop battery power options. Today's laptop batteries will generally power a laptop computer for anywhere from two to five hours depending on the charge capacity of the OEM or replacement laptop battery and the computer's power requirements.
When buying a replacement laptop battery for your computer, you will likely find several options availabe from both the original equipment manufacturer and the secondary manufacturers. Although you will need to purchase the same battery technology and voltage rating as the original battery, consider upgrading your computer's operating life by purchasing a replacement laptop battery with a higher amperage rating.
It’s good practice that you clean the battery and computer's contacts with a lint free cloth and rubbing alcohol if the contacts become dirty. This will help you maintain a good power connection and will provide a more efficient power operation of your laptop. It will also help prolong the life of your laptop battery.
To conserve power when you are not near an electrical outlet, it is a good ides to limit the peripheral devices and software programs that are being used. Extraneous hardware devices and running programs consume power. The best way to reduce power consumption in a laptop computer is to reduce the brightness of the display panel.
If you need to keep your laptop computer plugged in to its AC adapter to keep your laptop running, it probably means that your laptop's battery is dying. If that's the case, then it's time for you to start looking for a replacement laptop battery. The error that most people make is thinking that the computer's manufacturer is the only place to get a battery and they end up paying more than they have to. However, when the see that the manufacturer charges an extremely high price for their laptop batteries they start to look elsewhere.