I’ve been using desktop computers for five years and just bought my first laptop a couple days ago, so if this is a dumb question, please bear with me.
From the owner’s manual to my laptop:
I’m going to be doing 99% of my computing in close proximity to a wall socket, so I really don’t even need a battery. I figured I’d just leave the battery in the laptop while the plug was in, but that quote makes me a little wary. I don’t want to overcharge the damn battery or anything.
The obvious solution would be to just pull the battery out while using AC power. The only problem with that is that pulling the battery out leaves a huge, gaping hole in the front of my computer that all kinds of dust and other nasties could get into. Plus it really doesn’t look all that sleak.
Question #1 : Is the quote from the manual true? If so, to what degree will it reduce the battery’s life?
Question #2 : Why on earth didn’t they include a plastic bevel that I could put over the empty slot when not using the battery? The least they could have done is offer to sell me one, but they didn’t.
Any ideas, y’all?
I wouldn’t sweat it too much. That’s mostly a disclaimer to cover their own asses. NiCad batteries were the worst (Nickle Cadmium) in respect to battery ‘memory’. NiMH (Nickle Metal Hydride) batteries are better but still have a memory effect. Lithium Ion batteries have no problems in this regard.
So, use your laptop as you see fit. If you run the battery be sure to discharge the battery entirely before recharging. Although your battery life may shorten it will take a few years to have a noticeable effect.
Also, you may look into whether a Lithium Ion battery can be had for your model. These are expensive batteries however so you may not want to do this ($150 or so).
A few years? Cool, I didn’t know these things would keep holding charges for that long! Being a consumer product, I figured the battery would fizzle out in a few months. Thanks for the info.
I’ve used laptops pretty much continuously for 5 years, and 99% of the time they are plugged into the wall. Yeah, I did the “run the battery down completly 3 times” thing IBM recommended, and don’t know if it helped or not. But even the NiMH battery on my oldest laptop will give about 90% of it’s rated time on a charge.
I may be wrong here, but I don’t think battery memory should be a problem if it continously charged.
My understanding of battery memory is that if you let a NiCad or NiMH run down to 1/4 juice, the battery charges 3/4 to full. Next time you recharge it, the battery “remembers” how much it charged last time and “thinks” that 3/4 charge is all it needs to charge from dead to full.
Therefore, if it is constantly charged memory shouldn’t be an issue.
When you take it on the road, just continue to use it until the battery fails and you should get the best battery life. I think. I’m sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.
I’ve run my Dell Inspiron 3000 laptop extensively in both modes. Plugged into the wall for months and only plugged in at night while traveling and the battery lasts just about the 3.3 hours it is supposed to last. My opinion is do whatever you want and the laptop will be fine.
Not to jump on a thread, but I cant get power to my laptop. My IBM Thinkpad 600 adapter had to be put into a special angle to get power to the laptop. Now I use a car lighter power charger, but that makes the battery last for an hour. And I have to put that at a special angle too.
Any suggestions besides replacing the cord or sending this piece of shit out for repairs? I think the problem is the portal where I plug the cord in, and not the cord itself.
Maybe I can clean something. Or theres a way to make my battery last longer until I get a free computer during Pennsylvania’s sales tax free on computer sale August 3.
I really need the thing . . .oh no . . .there goes my power . . …