Things You Should Know About Your Laptop Battery

Connect the computer to external AC power under any of the following conditions:

(WARNING! Do not charge the computer battery while you are onboard aircraft.)

• When you are charging or calibrating a battery
• When you are installing or modifying system software
• When you are writing information to a CD or DVD

When you connect the computer to external AC power, the following events occur:

• The battery begins to charge.
• If the computer is turned on, the battery meter icon in the notification area changes appearance.

When you disconnect external AC power, the following events occur:

• The computer switches to battery power.
• he display brightness is automatically decreased to save battery life. To increase display
  brightness, press the fn+f8 hotkey or reconnect the AC adapter

Calibrating a battery

Calibrate a battery under the following conditions:

● When battery charge displays seem inaccurate

● When you observe a significant change in battery run time

Even if a battery is heavily used, it should not need to be calibrated more than once a month. It is alsonot necessary to calibrate a new battery.

Step 1: Fully charge the battery

To fully charge the battery:

1. Insert the battery into the computer.

2. Connect the computer to an AC adapter, optional power adapter, or optional expansion product,and then plug the adapter or device into external power.The battery light on the computer turns on.

3. Leave the computer plugged into external power until the battery is fully charged.

The battery light on the computer turns off.

Step 2: Disable Hibernation and Sleep

1. Click the battery meter icon in the notification area, and then click More power options.

– or –

Select Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Power Options.

2. Under the current power plan, click Change plan settings.

3. Record the Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep settings listed in the On

battery column so that you can reset them after the calibration.

4. Change the Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep settings to Never.

5. Click Change advanced power settings.

6. Click the plus sign next to Sleep, and then click the plus sign next to Hibernate after.

7. Record the On battery setting under Hibernate after so that you can reset it after the calibration.

8. Change the On battery setting to Never.

9. Click OK.

10. Click Save changes.

Step 3: Discharge the battery

The computer must remain on while the battery is being discharged. The battery can discharge whether or not you are using the computer, but the battery will discharge faster while you are using it.

● If you plan to leave the computer unattended during the discharge, save your information beforebeginning the discharge procedure.

● If you use the computer occasionally during the discharge procedure and have set energy- saving timeouts, expect the following performance from the system during the discharge process:

◦ The monitor will not turn off automatically.

◦ Hard drive speed will not decrease automatically when the computer is idle.

◦ System-initiated Hibernation will not occur.

To discharge a battery:

1. Unplug the computer from its external power source, but do not turn off the computer.

2. Run the computer on battery power until the battery is discharged. The battery light begins to blink

when the battery has discharged to a low battery level. When the battery is discharged, the battery light turns off and the computer shuts down.

Step 4: Fully recharge the battery

To recharge the battery:

1. Plug the computer into external power and maintain external power until the battery is fully recharged. When the battery is recharged, the battery light on the computer turns off.

You can use the computer while the battery is recharging, but the battery will charge faster if the computer is off.

2. If the computer is off, turn it on when the battery is fully charged and the battery light has turned off

Step 5: Reenable Hibernation and Sleep

CAUTION: Failure to reenable Hibernation after calibration may result in a full battery discharge and information loss if the computer reaches a critical battery level.

1. Click the battery meter icon in the notification area, and then click More power options.

– or –

Select Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Power Options.

2. Under the current power plan, click Change plan settings.

3. Click Restore default settings for this plan, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Conserving battery power

● Select low power-use settings through Power Options in Windows Control Panel.

● Turn off wireless and local area network (LAN) connections and exit modem applications when you are not using them.

● Disconnect external devices that are not plugged into an external power source, when you are not using them.

● Stop, disable, or remove any external media cards that you are not using.

● Use the fn+f7 and fn+f8 hotkeys to adjust screen brightness as needed.

● If you leave your work, initiate Sleep or Hibernation, or shut down the computer.

Storing a battery

CAUTION: To prevent damage to a battery, do not expose it to high temperatures for extended periods of time.

If a computer will be unused and unplugged from external power for more than 2 weeks, remove the battery and store it separately.To prolong the charge of a stored battery, place it in a cool, dry place.

NOTE: A stored battery should be checked every 6 months. If the capacity is less than 50 percent,

recharge the battery before returning it to storage.

Calibrate a battery before using it if it has been stored for one month or more.