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Question for those who like to leve lappy on all the time

post #1 of 30
9/19/04 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
In a previous thread about leaving your laptop on all the time, i now have a question about it.

If I leave my computer on all the time, should it be plugged in or just left on standby?

Should a laptop be plugged in, charging all the time?
How much does standby eat in to the battery?

Thanks.
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post #2 of 30
9/19/04 at 4:53pm
Well, I just leave it on and plugged in. Simple.
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post #3 of 30
9/19/04 at 5:00pm
standby stores everything into the memory and shuts down everything but that, so it doesn't use much power at all. If you want to leave it on all the time, just plug it in and tell it to do nothing when you close the lid. That way when you come back it won't have to come out of standby and have the fans running at full blast
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post #4 of 30
9/19/04 at 5:51pm

Battery Tip

What is probably hardest on the battery is when you are unplugged for a short time (whether using the laptop or not) because the battery will immediately begin to discharge. Then plugging in later, causes the battery to charge again. This creates more wear on the battery. If your not using the battery removing it is probably the best thing to do, especially if your not going to need the battery for an extended period. It is not a good idea to go for more than a couple of weeks without recharging your battery. If the battery becomes overly discharged ,it could damage the battery. The battery discharges by itself. "Stand loss" is a term used to describe the "amount of charge" a fully charged battery will lose per day when the battery is left in an unplugged but powered off computer or when the battery is charged and then removed from the computer and allowed to discharge on it's own. If you run your computer without the battery you will not have the benefit of battery backup in case of a power failure.
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post #5 of 30
9/19/04 at 10:08pm
I tend to use Hibernate most of the time, it conserves battery a lot, and doesnt require you to be plugged in at all. Boot time is very fast too. I just leave it unplugged and plug it back in when i reach 10% life
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post #6 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tummypony86
What is probably hardest on the battery is when you are unplugged for a short time (whether using the laptop or not) because the battery will immediately begin to discharge. Then plugging in later, causes the battery to charge again. This creates more wear on the battery. If your not using the battery removing it is probably the best thing to do, especially if your not going to need the battery for an extended period. It is not a good idea to go for more than a couple of weeks without recharging your battery. If the battery becomes overly discharged ,it could damage the battery. The battery discharges by itself. "Stand loss" is a term used to describe the "amount of charge" a fully charged battery will lose per day when the battery is left in an unplugged but powered off computer or when the battery is charged and then removed from the computer and allowed to discharge on it's own. If you run your computer without the battery you will not have the benefit of battery backup in case of a power failure.
I agree. I remove my battery while my laptop is just sitting around in my room.
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post #7 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:17am
one thing I've noticed from first hand experiences....do not leave your computer plugged in, when leaving your computer on, with the battery in. Pull the battery out, if you're going to have it running off the adapter. Leaving the battery in, and running off the adapter seems to be a quick way to reduce the life of your battery. I'm not 100% positive, but I think it's because when the battery is plugged in, the power goes from the adapter, through the battery (even when fully charged, and is not charging), and then to the laptop. It seems to be like a bunch of charging cycles.
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post #8 of 30
9/20/04 at 7:46am
I have had my 5100 for 18months and have had it running constantly on mains for days, and the battery has the same life as on day 1. Too much trouble to remove the battery and all that, and it makes the computer unstable. Just leave it in. It is bad to let the battery just sit and discharge.
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post #9 of 30
9/20/04 at 8:45am
are'nt the Batteries Lithium Ion ? If so they don't really have problem with retaining charging levels.
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post #10 of 30
9/20/04 at 9:06am
Yeah, that's true. Just leave it in. Doesn't harm the battery.
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post #11 of 30
9/20/04 at 11:34am
Just wondering for those of you who do unpack the battery -- what do you do to make the computer level again?
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post #12 of 30
9/20/04 at 12:02pm
I remember reading a while back that running a laptop without the battery is a bad idea. From my vague recollection, it had something to do with regulating the power and that by removing the battery you exposed yourself to damage of the machine.
Due to this I have never gotten into the habit of running my machine with the battery removed. I think your more likely to have the machine become a dinosaur before you damage the battery this way. Worst case, buy a second battery in a year or two and keep that one for travel and the old one for use when plugged in.

-BKuhl
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post #13 of 30
9/20/04 at 12:22pm
My Compaq has been going about 10 + hours a day for 3 years with out any battery problems. After 3 years the batteries still give me about 90% of the usage they did when new. On dual batteries my Compaq will run for 5-6 hours or about 3 DVD movies.

The Dell gets over 4 hours on a single battery. I always leave mine plug in. I think the biggest problem with the batteries is charge cycles. Generally when I run off the battery I use the computer until the battery is almost discharged before charging it.

John
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post #14 of 30
9/20/04 at 12:58pm
On my dell 300m my main battery went to 88% max charge capacity after 6 months of use, but this wasnt due to being plugged in, this was due to constantly charging and discharging the battery, i used the laptop on-the-go probably more than almost any businessman would. You can check how much wear your battery has with a program called mobmeter
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post #15 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
So if the laptop is plugged in and the battery is fully charged it is still sending charging power to the battery, right? Or, no?

I guess that is my biggest concern. If it is constantly sendign charging power to the battery, is it wearing it down. From the sounds of what hyou all are saying, the answer is no or at least, not any more than normal battery wear.
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post #16 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BKuhl
I remember reading a while back that running a laptop without the battery is a bad idea. From my vague recollection, it had something to do with regulating the power and that by removing the battery you exposed yourself to damage of the machine.
Due to this I have never gotten into the habit of running my machine with the battery removed. I think your more likely to have the machine become a dinosaur before you damage the battery this way. Worst case, buy a second battery in a year or two and keep that one for travel and the old one for use when plugged in.

-BKuhl
hmm interesting that u mention about this. i wonder if my 8600 which was eventually replaced for power issues just after 2 weeks(couldnt start up, led lights up- some of u may know this). anyway, i took out the battery when i was using it, and later i had the problem. luckily for the new replacement, i have not run the laptop without battery plugged in
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post #17 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
"Free iPod" - lol nothing is for free. You have to buy something in order to receive this free ipod pyrophite links us to.

You might want to change your sig to "Free iPod with online order" see how many hits you get then.
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post #18 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:46pm
It shouldn't be in his sig at all.
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post #19 of 30
9/20/04 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickpick
So if the laptop is plugged in and the battery is fully charged it is still sending charging power to the battery, right? Or, no?

I guess that is my biggest concern. If it is constantly sendign charging power to the battery, is it wearing it down. From the sounds of what hyou all are saying, the answer is no or at least, not any more than normal battery wear.
I don't think that is the case. The computer stops charging the battery when the charge level is full.

John
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post #20 of 30
9/20/04 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickpick
"Free iPod" - lol nothing is for free. You have to buy something in order to receive this free ipod pyrophite links us to.

Not if you do the ebay offer.
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