laptop

jane · 11-10-2006, 18:39

just bought a brand new laptop, havent taken it out of the box yet, but had a look at the instruction, wot i cant work out is do i have to put the battery in and have it charging whilst i am using the power cord or if im using the power cord shall i take the battery out? is it harmfull to the laptop to constantly leave the battery in and always use the power adapter?

MovedGoalPosts · 11-10-2006, 18:43

Generally you would have the battery in. It's how the lappy is designed to operate on charge, i.e it recharges while you are using it. Over time there is a probability that the battery will loose it's durability, especially if it's trickle charged, and only rarely used to it's full potential, but batteries are getting better. Periodically use the lappy on power to virtually discharge the battery, complete discharge is often bad for some battery types.

Xaccers · 11-10-2006, 18:52

DO NOT TRY AND DISCHARGE THE BATTERY IF IT IS A LI-ION (LITHIUM)!!

Lithium batteries prefer top ups rather than complete discharges.
The more often you do full charges, the quicker your battery will reach the end of it's life.
Li-Ions slowly start to die as soon as they are made, through oxidation of their materials, so don't buy a spare battery at the same time as your laptop if you're planning on using it once the original battery dies.
Heat is the main reason why laptop batteries die, but you won't extend its life by much if you run the laptop off the mains with the battery out, and of course you run the risk of accidently knocking the power lead out and not having a battery in place to keep the computer going (goodbye any un-saved work).

In a year or so when you start to notice that the battery isn't holding it's charge, then get the battery's model number and search on ebay for a replacement.

The only batteries which you have to discharge fully before charging are NiCd's, and I seriously doubt your laptop has one of those, unless it's ancient!

jane · 11-10-2006, 18:55

so before turning te laptop on, i should put the battery in, plug in the power cord and turn the whole thing on and never have to worry about taking the battery out? just leave it in there and use the power lead as normal?

MovedGoalPosts · 11-10-2006, 19:01

Yep, that's what I do

AbyssUnderground · 12-10-2006, 21:16

People are often confused over which damages a laptop battery, its not leaving it on charge that kills it, its the heat from the laptop that does most damage. Overcharging cannot happen with a Li-ion battery. The batteries circuitry makes it impossible to happen.

Also, you should cycle the battery from 100% to 0% every 2 weeks or so to help keep the batteries "fuel" meter calibrated. I have a battery recovery method to keep Li-ions working to their best. You can find it on this forum if you search for it (or PM me for it).

I leave mine plugged in 24/7 unless its running on the battery. Had it 2 years and it still holds 2+ hours charge.

EDIT: Original time was 2 1/2 hours.