Gaming World Forums

General Category => Technology and Programming => Topic started by: Izekeal on May 21, 2008, 02:38:22 am

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Izekeal on May 21, 2008, 02:38:22 am

Is there such thing as a program I can download that will let me choose when my laptop will recharge its battery?  I'm asking because most laptops I've used will recharge their battery as soon as you plug them into the wall, even if the battery is at 99%.  Over time this constant recharging (as the battery goes to 99% when you shut down most of the time) will kill your battery and then you only get a few minutes life out of it instead of the hours you're supposed to.

So yeah, is there a program like that?  Or some firmware I could download for my motherboard or something?

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Bobberticus on May 21, 2008, 02:48:04 am

Yeah, I was wondering about something like this a while back, but never found anything.

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: ase on May 21, 2008, 03:15:58 am

fuck, this would explain why my laptop battery is only good for about 30 minutes now!

I guess I would like this too, for my next laptop battery!

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: goat on May 21, 2008, 05:50:10 am

Honestly, just unplug it from the wall whenever it's full charge, and only plug it back in when it's almost out. It's best to let it drain before recharging. This goes for a majority of cellphones and some other portable gadgets as well.

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on May 21, 2008, 11:49:44 am

Quote from: goat on May 21, 2008, 05:50:10 am

Honestly, just unplug it from the wall whenever it's full charge, and only plug it back in when it's almost out. It's best to let it drain before recharging. This goes for a majority of cellphones and some other portable gadgets as well.

this isn't true with lithium batteries, in fact completely draining lithium batteries can be really really bad for them

it might not be damaging the battery, but leaving it charging usually makes it heat up which isn't good for anything!

also i'm pretty sure the charging process is passive, you plug it in and it charges, the computer can just 'see' that it's charging

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Death Gulp on May 21, 2008, 12:53:49 pm

I was actually wondering this too, as I don't want my laptop to fag out any time soon

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Brown on May 21, 2008, 02:50:56 pm

its too late for my laptop :(​. shelf life was 2 and a half hours and now its 20 mins

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Izekeal on May 21, 2008, 03:08:34 pm

Quote from: goat on May 21, 2008, 05:50:10 am

Honestly, just unplug it from the wall whenever it's full charge, and only plug it back in when it's almost out. It's best to let it drain before recharging. This goes for a majority of cellphones and some other portable gadgets as well.

Yeah, this is what I figured I'd end up having to do.

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on May 21, 2008, 08:01:36 pm

Quote from: Brown on May 21, 2008, 02:50:56 pm

its too late for my laptop :(​. shelf life was 2 and a half hours and now its 20 mins

lithium battery life depletion is mostly related to the age of the battery. they lose capacity permanently over time, regardless of how many times you recharge it.
heat and stuff speeds this up

Title: Laptop Battery Management
Post by: goat on May 22, 2008, 03:14:13 pm

Quote from: climbtree on May 21, 2008, 11:49:44 am

this isn't true with lithium batteries, in fact completely draining lithium batteries can be really really bad for them

it might not be damaging the battery, but leaving it charging usually makes it heat up which isn't good for anything!

also i'm pretty sure the charging process is passive, you plug it in and it charges, the computer can just 'see' that it's charging

it is for nickel cadium.