A notebook battery guide ... I thought customer service was gone too, but I talked to some people in alienware's forums here (I have an alienware) and now they ...

MDupreejr · 12-04-2005, 02:38 AM

I thought customer service was gone too, but I talked to some people in alienware's forums here (I have an alienware) and now they are gonna send me a brand new laptop in trade for my old one.

You should go over to the sony forums here and see what others have to say who have sonys.

Good luck

Morpheus · 12-13-2005, 05:38 PM

Hey peeps... Great article! Only one thing that didn't become clear for me: What's best when using it mostly as a DTR?

1) Always use it with the charger connected (with the possible problems related with the battery being @ high temps)

or

2) Always charge it to 100%, use it without the charger connected, and when battery is close to be empty, recharge it (consuming charging cycles)

Thanks!!!

DDDa · 12-13-2005, 06:43 PM

I would guess it's better to stay with the charger connected because you won't wear the battery that much. Anyway, if the battery gets warm by staying in contact with the notebook, then I don't know, but I would still stick with the 1st.

Roswell · 12-14-2005, 07:49 PM

Great article. It is nice to know there are people out there willing to share their knowledge without charging a fee. The world is so $$$ oriented...nothing is free these days. I appreciate your work and your willingness to share it with us!

RoyBatty · 12-14-2005, 07:51 PM

Great article Adam

daimler1727 · 02-27-2006, 06:03 PM

this is what's good in being in other countries. in my place, you can hardly find a tech support for your notebook. and if ever you find one, it'll cost you a lot... literally a lot.

blazingspeed · 03-05-2006, 08:14 PM

thank you for a nice guide.

anyone know how to check how well the battery is?

ghsrocketman · 03-08-2006, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazingspeed

thank you for a nice guide.

anyone know how to check how well the battery is?

Yup! Download this:
http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm#anchor_download

When you run the program, there's a tab that says "Battery." In there, there's a "percent wear level" value. I forgot exactly how it tests the health, but I think it compares the amount of power the battery has when it's at 100% charged to the listed storage value...

rockhead27 · 03-30-2006, 08:12 PM

my dell 9800 only gets 3 hours

rockhead27 · 03-30-2006, 08:12 PM

i bought a new battery and it gets only 2 more hours

extremecarver · 05-13-2006, 09:17 AM

When storing - store it in a cool place at 40% charge rate. Never store full (to high discharge) - Lower and you face the risk of complete uncharge and breaking the battery.

After some years even with best care any battery will be broken - therefore you can't buy batteries for the future thinking to replace it once the one in use doesn't hold much capacity anymore.

sirius · 05-14-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morpheus

Hey peeps... Great article! Only one thing that didn't become clear for me: What's best when using it mostly as a DTR?

1) Always use it with the charger connected (with the possible problems related with the battery being @ high temps)

or

2) Always charge it to 100%, use it without the charger connected, and when battery is close to be empty, recharge it (consuming charging cycles)

Thanks!!!

I'd just remove the battery at about 40% charge and store it in a cool dark cupboard or Notebook bag.

If you're planning to run the NB as a desktop replacement just run it off the mains without the battery in it.

Use the battery when you need to be mobile!

MY QUESTION,
Is there a way of leaving the battery in the NB all the time and disabling the charge funktion? Or even leaving the battery in but disabeling it completely in windows?

That way the battery is always attached but not charged. I could choose myself if it should charge or not?

Maybe by deactivating the "Microsoft ACPI-....battery" in hardware manager?

My 17" Asus A7D (Z83D) has the battery right up in front without any heat souces nearby so loss of life due to heat is negligable. I use the A7D as a desktop replacement and its on 24/7 around the clock. I only ever need the battery once a month if I should take the NB out any where...

sirius · 05-14-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amd-xile

For those with AMD processors, some extra degree of power management is available by downloading the latest processor drivers from the AMD website (link provided below). Oftentimes (as was the case with mine), the new laptop will have the WinXP processor driver installed--which doesn't have PowerNow! support.

PowerNow! allows automatic powering-down of devices not in use (so you don't have to manually enable/disable them thru the Control Panel as recommended in the article above, unless you want to, but the effect is [pretty much] the same). Supposedly it also helps with processor throttling. Unfortunately, it works partly thru XP's Power Management window, so it doesn't bypass OS control of power management, but augments it. I recommend it, though, to anyone with a Mobile AMD Athlon64.

Once installed, you can go to the Control Panel--> Device Manager & open the Properties window for the devices you want to micro-manage. In the Properties window, you will now have a "Power Management" tab for certain devices (including USB hubs, PCMCIA card slots, WiFi, etc.). The default setting is to power-off each device when not in use (there is a check-box at the bottom of the Power Management tab in the window, which you can check or un-check).

Example: Since I never use my PCMCIA slot, I manually disable it (you can see that in the first screenshot), rather than let PowerNow! choose when to turn it off. But I _occasionally_ use my Ethernet port so I let PowerNow! automatically manage those by right-clicking on the Ethernet controller in the Device Manager, then clicking on the Power Management tab, & checking the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

To install the new processor driver, simply download the .exe file & run it. I think the .exe file might be the same for all processors, but I'm not sure, so, to be safe, I'll give separate links for each processor. Somewhere in those pages you can also find a 'Cool & Quiet' driver for Linux, as well, but I don't think it works for Mobile chips yet.

Links (scroll part-way down & find Processor Driver 1.2.2.1 or 1.2.2.2 [1.2.2.1 is for 32-bit WinXP, 1.2.2.2 is for 64-bit WinXP]):
Mobile AMD Athlon64
Mobile AMD Sempron (32-bit)
Opteron 64
(non-mobile) Athlon64
AMD Turion 64
Dual Core Athlon 64

Note: once installed, the WinXP (32-bit) Device Manager will say that the Processor Driver revision is 1.2.2.0, but in fact it is the updated 1.2.2.1 [don't be put off by it]. Bon Apetit!~

I've installed the Turion64 drivers from AMD. But except for the netwerk card, it's not possible to throttle down or turn off any other devices in hardware manager. Only way is to deactivate manually.

Pat@batteryfuel · 05-15-2006, 03:16 PM

My name is Patrick Allmond, and I own www.batteryfuel.com. We sell laptop batteries and power supplies of all sorts, and this is some of the best information I have seen online about batteries. I need to start coming back here more often to learn from you guys and share what I know.

DDDa · 05-15-2006, 07:08 PM

Be more than welcome! I always "take shelter" on the notebook general section, so you can always find me there. I also recommend batteryuniversity.com , seems to be a consensus.

12-04-2005, 02:38 AM	#31
MDupreejr Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 8 Credits: -347	I thought customer service was gone too, but I talked to some people in alienware's forums here (I have an alienware) and now they are gonna send me a brand new laptop in trade for my old one. You should go over to the sony forums here and see what others have to say who have sonys. Good luck Last edited by MDupreejr; 12-04-2005 at 02:40 AM.

12-13-2005, 06:43 PM	#33
DDDa ▬●● Huh Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,236 Credits: 406	I would guess it's better to stay with the charger connected because you won't wear the battery that much. Anyway, if the battery gets warm by staying in contact with the notebook, then I don't know, but I would still stick with the 1st. __________________ The n00b guide For all your screen needs

12-14-2005, 07:51 PM	#35
RoyBatty Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 158 Credits: -305	Great article Adam __________________ I9300 \|2.0ghz\| 2gb ram\| 80gb 7200\| 6800Go \| 17" WUXGA Truelife Sager 5680 3.0Ghz \| 1 Gig ram \| 60GB 5400 \| 15" UXGA \| ATI 9600 Pro - Going into semi-retirement as remote desktop or server mode in the basement because of backlight problem

05-15-2006, 03:16 PM	#44
Pat@batteryfuel NBF Reseller Join Date: May 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 73 Credits: 1,479	My name is Patrick Allmond, and I own www.batteryfuel.com. We sell laptop batteries and power supplies of all sorts, and this is some of the best information I have seen online about batteries. I need to start coming back here more often to learn from you guys and share what I know. __________________ --- Owner of LaptopBatteryFuel.com Batteries and Charges/Adapters for thousands of laptops. I am here to answer any battery/power related questions. Shoot away.

05-15-2006, 07:08 PM	#45
DDDa ▬●● Huh Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,236 Credits: 406	Be more than welcome! I always "take shelter" on the notebook general section, so you can always find me there. I also recommend batteryuniversity.com , seems to be a consensus. __________________ The n00b guide For all your screen needs

Notebooks For Sale

User Links

Top Posters

Todays Top Posters

Fastest Benchmarks

Latest Benchmarks

12-13-2005, 05:38 PM	#32
Morpheus Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 57 Credits: -326	Hey peeps... Great article! Only one thing that didn't become clear for me: What's best when using it mostly as a DTR? 1) Always use it with the charger connected (with the possible problems related with the battery being @ high temps) or 2) Always charge it to 100%, use it without the charger connected, and when battery is close to be empty, recharge it (consuming charging cycles) Thanks!!!

12-14-2005, 07:49 PM	#34
Roswell Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 144 Credits: -312	Great article. It is nice to know there are people out there willing to share their knowledge without charging a fee. The world is so $$$ oriented...nothing is free these days. I appreciate your work and your willingness to share it with us!

02-27-2006, 06:03 PM	#36
daimler1727 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3 Credits: -349	this is what's good in being in other countries. in my place, you can hardly find a tech support for your notebook. and if ever you find one, it'll cost you a lot... literally a lot.

03-05-2006, 08:14 PM	#37
blazingspeed Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 11 Credits: -347	thank you for a nice guide. anyone know how to check how well the battery is?

03-30-2006, 08:12 PM	#39
rockhead27 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 11 Credits: -347	my dell 9800 only gets 3 hours

05-13-2006, 09:17 AM	#41
extremecarver Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 69 Credits: -330	When storing - store it in a cool place at 40% charge rate. Never store full (to high discharge) - Lower and you face the risk of complete uncharge and breaking the battery. After some years even with best care any battery will be broken - therefore you can't buy batteries for the future thinking to replace it once the one in use doesn't hold much capacity anymore.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
The 17" Notebook Guide	MichaelX30	Notebook Guides	74	09-19-2009 04:48 PM
A notebook battery guide	Adam@NBF	Notebook News	3	07-14-2007 11:08 PM
DIY Notebook Guide	plageclochard	Notebook Forums - General	1	05-07-2005 01:36 PM
Notebook Buyer’s Guide	perdog	Notebook Forums - General	1	04-05-2005 12:32 PM
Battery Optimization Guide!	smilepak	Notebook Forums - General	0	03-25-2005 06:35 PM