| Depending upon the model, a notebook battery | | | | avoided. |
| usually lasts from 1 to 8 hours. However, with | | | | Increase the RAM memory, if an extra slot is |
| efficient battery usage, an hour or two of battery | | | | available, as this puts fewer burdens on the hard disk, |
| power can significantly be increased. You can save | | | | which consumes a lot of battery power. Avoid |
| battery power by using the built-in battery saving | | | | multimedia games while you are running your |
| modes and by following good notebook | | | | notebook on battery power. Similarly, avoid music or |
| battery-saving practices. | | | | movies. Copy the CD/DVD on the hard disk and play |
| Built-in battery-saving modes are Stand By and | | | | it from there, instead of the optical drive. Disable WiFi |
| Hibernate. In the Stand By mode, open applications | | | | and Bluetooth. Built-in wireless cards should also be |
| are stored in the RAM, the hard disks power down, | | | | disabled. Decrease or set to mute the notebook |
| the monitor switches off, but the processor goes on | | | | speaker volume. Turn off all preprogrammed |
| running. When you again perform some activity of | | | | scheduled tasks. All unused open applications should |
| the mouse or the keyboard, then the hard disk | | | | be closed. The general guideline is that when your |
| powers up, the monitor switches on, and the data | | | | notebook is on battery power, you should perform |
| from the RAM is activated, restoring your notebook | | | | only such operations, which are the need of the hour. |
| exactly the way you left it. | | | | Rest of the applications can be performed, when |
| The Hibernation mode is used when the notebook is | | | | your notebook is connected to the mains. |
| left unattended for a long time. The open applications | | | | Keeping good care of the battery also prolongs its |
| are stored on the hard disk, which subsequently | | | | life. To maximize performance of nickel-metal hydride |
| powers down, the monitor turns off, and the | | | | batteries, they have to be completely drained off |
| processor turns off going in for hibernation. On soft | | | | before they are recharged. However, lithium-ion |
| rebooting like a restart or wake up on LAN, the | | | | batteries do not need cycling/ conditioning, and they |
| processor turns on, the laptop wakes up, and the | | | | do not suffer from memory effects. Hence, they |
| same exact settings are restored. Both these modes | | | | need not be fully drained off before recharging. |
| should be used to conserve battery power. You can | | | | When the notebook is not in use for an extended |
| preset your preferences in the settings of your | | | | period, the battery pack should be removed to avoid |
| notebook, so that in case you doze off, or leave the | | | | battery leakage. Before removing the battery pack, |
| device for a coffee or a snack, the notebook | | | | you should charge it fully and then remove it, as all |
| automatically goes into any one of these power | | | | kinds of batteries should always be stored in a fully |
| saving modes. | | | | charged state. Do not store your battery pack along |
| Following battery-saving practices can also save | | | | with metal parts, as this will short-circuit your battery. |
| notebook battery power. You should always adjust | | | | Utilizing the built-in battery saving options and other |
| the monitor controls to suit the room lighting | | | | means, you can significantly add one to three hours |
| conditions. Dimming the contrast and brightness saves | | | | more in the total capacity of your notebook battery. |
| battery power besides providing relief to your eyes. | | | | Sometimes, in critical situations, like an important |
| Auto-save and auto-update features of applications | | | | meeting, this extra hour of notebook battery power |
| start in the background without your knowledge and | | | | can help you clinch your desired deal. |
| these should be disabled. External devices consume a | | | | This article is under GNU FDL license and can be |
| lot of battery power, hence the usage of external | | | | distributed without any previous authorization from |
| mice, monitors, keyboards, optical drives, videocam, | | | | the author. However the author's name and all the |
| digital cameras, or any other device connected to the | | | | URLs (links) mentioned in the article and biography |
| PC Card slot, VGA/ FireWire/ USB port should be | | | | must be kept. |