Laptop battery issues

[Speeddemon]

I've just bought a Toshiba Satellite L310-S410 laptop, and i have a few questions concerning the battery lifespan and charge capacity:

1. I understand that a battery has limited charge cycles. How are the cycles counted? Is depleting the battery a little like 10% and then charging it back counted as a cycle? Or is it only counted as a cycle if i charge the battery 50% today, use it before charging it 50% again another day?

2. What does the battery do when it's fully charged and i connect the laptop to the power adapter? Does it deplete the battery or is my laptop running solely on AC supply?

3. Referring to question 2, if charging while the battery is full does deplete the battery, what is the best way to use the laptop so that the lifespan and capacity are retained? Should i take the battery out and connect it to the power adapter? Or should i disconnect the power adapter right after the battery is fully charged?

For your info, i'm using my laptop at home, mostly all-day-long so i have the habit to connect it to the power adapter continuously. I'm not sure whether doing so will shorten the battery lifespan as claimed by my friends. Please help me as i really hope you could help clear my doubts. Thanks in advance and have a nice day

[vseehua]

Originally Posted by Speeddemon

1. I understand that a battery has limited charge cycles. How are the cycles counted? Is depleting the battery a little like 10% and then charging it back counted as a cycle? Or is it only counted as a cycle if i charge the battery 50% today, use it before charging it 50% again another day?

It counts as a cycle everytime you plug your laptop in

2. What does the battery do when it's fully charged and i connect the laptop to the power adapter? Does it deplete the battery or is my laptop running solely on AC supply?

The laptop will try to keep the battery charged by using minimal current to compensate for the loss of charge over time

3. Referring to question 2, if charging while the battery is full does deplete the battery, what is the best way to use the laptop so that the lifespan and capacity are retained? Should i take the battery out and connect it to the power adapter? Or should i disconnect the power adapter right after the battery is fully charged?

To preserve a battery for as long as possible, take it out after it is charged and store it somewhere cool and dry. Remember to discharge it completely every month so that the battery meter of your laptop stays calibrated. Also, if you do bring it out and use power from the batteries, it is recommended that you don't deplete it fully as it might hurt the lifespan as well...

For your info, i'm using my laptop at home, mostly all-day-long so i have the habit to connect it to the power adapter continuously. I'm not sure whether doing so will shorten the battery lifespan as claimed by my friends. Please help me as i really hope you could help clear my doubts. Thanks in advance and have a nice day

see answer for question 3

[Athersin]

discharge it completely every month so that the battery meter of your laptop stays calibrated

i dun quite get it..How to dischage and charge laptop?

How to make sure that the battery is fully charged?I dun see there is any battery meter on my laptop.

My power adaptor always get heated(it feels extremely hot when i touch it) ,does it sound normal?

[vseehua]

Originally Posted by Athersin

i dun quite get it..How to dischage and charge laptop?

How to make sure that the battery is fully charged?I dun see there is any battery meter on my laptop.

My power adaptor always get heated(it feels extremely hot when i touch it) ,does it sound normal?

To discharge the battery, disable the auto-standby function of your laptop via the power-options panel (in control panel), charge it till 100% as shown at the taskbar, and leave it to run until it runs out of juice. After the laptop dies, plug the power cable back in and charge it back up to full...

You can view the remaining charge in your battery at the taskbar, just beside the clock to the right. The icon should look something like a D-sized battery or a plug if your laptop is connected to the a power point.

As for a superheated power adapter, it isn't that normal for it to heat to extreme temperatures. My Mac's power adaptor don't heat up even under heavy usage. Then again, it might be the design of the adaptor. I suggest you compare yours with your friends who have the same computer and adaptor. If the temperature difference is too big, it might indicate a problem with your adaptor.

[Athersin]

what is the purpose of discharging battery of a laptop?

Shall i buy laptop cooler if i am a heavy user(i use it quite often-8hours a day)?Shall i just leave it while not in use or shall i just switch it off and later switch it on again if want to use it?

[vseehua]

Originally Posted by Athersin

what is the purpose of discharging battery of a laptop?

Shall i buy laptop cooler if i am a heavy user(i use it quite often-8hours a day)?Shall i just leave it while not in use or shall i just switch it off and later switch it on again if want to use it?

discharging is to help calibrate the battery meter so that it always show the correct amount of remaining charge and time.

the length of time is not the factor to consider whether to buy a cooler or not. Check your laptop's temperature. If it runs hot then go and get one...

[Speeddemon]

Originally Posted by Athersin

My power adaptor always get heated(it feels extremely hot when i touch it) ,does it sound normal?

I have no idea to what extent your power adaptor feels hot, but my physics teacher once told me that no matter what charger you are using, be it your handphone or laptop charger, they all have transformer inside and when you charge your devides, there will be electrical energy loss as heat. So it's normal that your power adaptor feels hot because mine reacts in a same way as yours. Cheers

Originally Posted by Athersin

Shall i buy laptop cooler if i am a heavy user(i use it quite often-8hours a day)?Shall i just leave it while not in use or shall i just switch it off and later switch it on again if want to use it?

I recommend you use a laptop cooler only if your laptop feels really hot and you don't feel comfortable using it. Heat is always the worst enemy of computer components so try to use a laptop cooler if it's really hot. However, do note that components like cooler suck a lot of your battery power. Use it only when you have the power adaptor plugged in, or else your battery won't last long. (My laptop lasts for only an hour instead of the normal 2 hours when i use the cooler, so i never use it since my laptop doesn't feel hot at all)

If you need to resume working with your laptop but you need to break for a few hours, i think it's better for you to put it in sleep mode. It saves all the data into the RAM so that you can resume working faster. At the same time, it consumes less power. If you're planning to leave your laptop overnight, put it to hibernate then. (In vista, hibernation is disabled so you'll have to enable it through the command prompt)

Originally Posted by vseehua

It counts as a cycle everytime you plug your laptop in

The laptop will try to keep the battery charged by using minimal current to compensate for the loss of charge over time

To preserve a battery for as long as possible, take it out after it is charged and store it somewhere cool and dry. Remember to discharge it completely every month so that the battery meter of your laptop stays calibrated. Also, if you do bring it out and use power from the batteries, it is recommended that you don't deplete it fully as it might hurt the lifespan as well...


see answer for question 3

Vseehua, here's some info that i would like to share with you.

I sent my laptop to Toshiba's service center due to a faulty touchpad and yesterday, the technician called me. I asked him the questions that i posted earlier and this is what he told me:

When the laptop battery is fully charged and the power adaptor is connected, the battery stops charging and the laptop uses power only from the power adaptor. In other words, it's safe to leave the laptop 24/7 on AC current as the battery doesn't charge nor discharge, thus preserving the livespan. He said that he has been doing this for 3 years and his laptop battery still works perfectly.

Also, taking out the battery is not advisable because if the battery isn't used for some time, it may lose its ability to store charge. Worse still, the battery terminals might become dirty if you take it out of the notebook and store it somewhere else.

[Scrmath]

Originally Posted by Speeddemon

I have no idea to what extent your power adaptor feels hot, but my physics teacher once told me that no matter what charger you are using, be it your handphone or laptop charger, they all have transformer inside and when you charge your devides, there will be electrical energy loss as heat. So it's normal that your power adaptor feels hot because mine reacts in a same way as yours. Cheers



I recommend you use a laptop cooler only if your laptop feels really hot and you don't feel comfortable using it. Heat is always the worst enemy of computer components so try to use a laptop cooler if it's really hot. However, do note that components like cooler suck a lot of your battery power. Use it only when you have the power adaptor plugged in, or else your battery won't last long. (My laptop lasts for only an hour instead of the normal 2 hours when i use the cooler, so i never use it since my laptop doesn't feel hot at all)

If you need to resume working with your laptop but you need to break for a few hours, i think it's better for you to put it in sleep mode. It saves all the data into the RAM so that you can resume working faster. At the same time, it consumes less power. If you're planning to leave your laptop overnight, put it to hibernate then. (In vista, hibernation is disabled so you'll have to enable it through the command prompt)



Vseehua, here's some info that i would like to share with you.

I sent my laptop to Toshiba's service center due to a faulty touchpad and yesterday, the technician called me. I asked him the questions that i posted earlier and this is what he told me:

When the laptop battery is fully charged and the power adaptor is connected, the battery stops charging and the laptop uses power only from the power adaptor. In other words, it's safe to leave the laptop 24/7 on AC current as the battery doesn't charge nor discharge, thus preserving the livespan. He said that he has been doing this for 3 years and his laptop battery still works perfectly.

Also, taking out the battery is not advisable because if the battery isn't used for some time, it may lose its ability to store charge. Worse still, the battery terminals might become dirty if you take it out of the notebook and store it somewhere else.

Wad is meant by the bold word above?

[Speeddemon]

Originally Posted by Scrmath

Wad is meant by the bold word above?

It means that you connect the power adaptor to your laptop and leave it there non-stop. It's usually done by people who use their laptops for long periods and almost everyday...

[Zwitterion]

Question: If I remove the battery & run from a power source will it lengthen battery life?Answer:
Laptop batteries have finite life spans. Whether you use the power cord and remove the battery it will lengthen the life of the battery.
Li-Ion laptop battery lifespan is approximately 1000 charge cycles, or 2-4 years under normal operating conditions.
Keeping the battery in a cool place can prolong its life but not in a period of extended storage. The Li-ion battery should be stored at 40 percent rather than full-charge state.
The battery ages even if not used. For best results, keep the battery cool. In addition, store the battery at a 40 percent charge level. Never fully charge or discharge the battery before storage. The 40 percent charge assures a stable condition even if self-discharge robs some of the battery's energy. Most battery manufacturers store Li-ion batteries at 15?C (59?F) and at 40 percent charge.
Keeping a laptop battery on constant charge is and never using it is not good for the laptop battery. Run the battery down and recharging it at least once every month.

Source: http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/usi...opbattery1.htm

I do not know how true this information is. Do let me know what you think of this. Thank you.