How to Extend Your HP Pavilion or Toshiba Satellite Laptop Battery Life

We are a family of laptop users.

While we love using our laptops and the mobility they give us, the one thing that we all have an issue with is the laptop batteries do not last for very long. We have noticed that a laptop battery on average was giving us use of approximately one year each before we would have to render them useless. Is one year's worth of battery life what you are experiencing as well?

As the battery life span is a problem for us, I have decided to do some research on this topic and the below is my report:

Ever experienced your laptop battery not charging or dying at the worst possible time? It really can be frustrating and at times, even lose potential clients and future business should you consistently have laptop battery problems. Here are some 15 useful tips to how to increase your laptop battery life.

Do keep in mind that not all batteries or laptops are manufactured the same, and while I have found the below to be of some help for my family and the laptops we use, it is my hope you find the tips helpful as well while saving you time and money.

1. Ensure that your new battery pack is fully charged before use.
2. Drain completely and fully recharge your battery pack every couple of months. Once the battery is charged, you need to use it at least once every couple of weeks. You have to fully discharge then recharge your battery if you do not have the intention of using your laptop for a period of time,.
3. A battery has two terminals. A negative and positive terminal that when connected, the current flows. Keep these battery contact terminals clean. Use a cloth dipped lightly in rubbing alcohol to clean the battery’s metal contacts every couple of months. You will find the power transfer from your battery will be more efficient.
4. Hard drives are consumes a lot of power. However, you need to be aware that CD and DVD drives do use more power than your hard drive. When you have a CD or DVD in the drive, the drive spins, sucking up the power, even when they are not actively being used. Take your CD or DVD out of the drive, do not leave it in.
5. Hibernate your laptop instead of placing it on standby mode, as it will save more power.
6. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging your computer regularly. Logically you will not do this while you are on your battery power, right? When you defrag your computer, it runs faster and more efficiently, putting less demand on your drive and prolong the life of your laptop battery.
7. Do not play graphics intensive video games as this will consume a lot of battery power. However, emailing and word processing should be alright to go ahead with as they consume much less battery power than gaming.
8. Do not drop the battery pack.
9. Do not expose the battery to extreme heat or cold. Do not leave it in direct sunlight.
   
10. Shut down unnecessary background programs as they add load to the CPU and shorten your battery life. Do one thing at a time.
11. Shut off the WIFI if you do not have a need for it.
12. Cut down on external devices like the USB as they are biggest drainers of battery power. Do not charge other devices like the iPod while on battery power. Avoid using multimedia software.
13. Dim your laptop screen down to the lowest level to extract some extra battery life.
14. Clean the laptop air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner as when the laptop is cooler, it functions more efficiently.
15. If your laptop is getting old (perhaps 3 years or more), might it be time to consider buying an energy efficient laptop?

It is my sincere hope that with some laptop battery maintenance, your laptop battery will have less issues and will go further than what ours had been! Happy mobile computing!

On a different note, I have also written hubs on other topics.

Check out my other hubs:

What is effective leadership?

For those who are looking to not just communicate effectively but also to improve their leadership skills and be a successful leader that others will remember.

4 Steps on How to be Genuinely Happy

In spite of what is happening around you, learn to set yourself apart from the situation and be happy.

How to Improve Interpersonal Skills

Here are ten tips on how to improve your interpersonal skills.