How long do you leave a laptop plugged in?
444213
Wow, there seems to be some differences of opinion on this one. Well perhaps I can help clear up some of the mystery.  I have actually done quite a bit of research on this topic.\n\nThere is this thing called "battery memory".  It doesn't actually have anything to do with memory, what it refers to is the battery's ability to hold a charge.  If a battery is not discharged all the way before it is recharged it starts to develop a "memory" of the amount of discharge. It doesn't happen right away but eventually it gets to the point where the battery will no longer charge to the full capacity it used to have.\nDifferent battery types are effected by this different amounts.  Alkaline batteries are severely effected by it. Lithium Ion batteries (the kind in a laptop) are not nearly as effected by it but are still a little effected.\nThere is something else to consider however.  All batteries, especially lithium Ions and most especially cheap lithium Ions loose there charge over time, even when they are just sitting being unused.  This means that every few hours or even every few minutes depending on your battery and laptop, the battery charger kicks on to get the battery back to 100%.  This rapid charging and discharging will quickly hurt the batteries life.\nOf course this is only one of many things that can and will effect the life of your battery.  The manual to your laptop should have care instructions for it.  Usually it recommends running on the battery and draining it completely dead then doing a full recharge around once a month.  This will help stop "battery memory".
897767
To save energy/power/electricity:\n\nShut your computer down if you will not use it for more than 3 hours. Put it in hibernate mode if it will be idle for just a couple of hours. If you will be gone for several minutes, just turn off the monitor (physically) if you are using a desktop PC. If you are using a laptop, make sure that you have set the power options in control panel to turn off h/d and monitor when not in use for a specific number minutes depending on how long you want. Ultimately, to really save energy, only turn-on your PC if you intend to use it.\n\nBy the way Logging-off is a security feature and not a power saving feature. So it does not save energy.
905272
Goto your CONTROL PANEL and select POWER OPTIONS.  Make sure it is set at a level you want, I assume it says to turn off hard disk after 20 mins...Just change that to NEVER.
732741
i do it all the time, just keep the power supply plugged in, make sure that the three pronged wall plug is plugged into a properly grounded power outlet.  Take the cover off and touch the metal housing of the power supply.  If you have to walk away and come back, just touch it again before fiddling with anything else inside again.
241475
Depends. If you eat a big meal, about an 1- 1 1/2 hrs.  If it's a power bar or something small, about 30 min.
987000
Take the power cord with you when you leave.
750902
Yes, I do it all the time.\nIt works with any modern laptop.\nTurn off the laptop, remove battery, replug power adapter. Turn on.\nAs simple as that.\nTo use battery again, turn off, replug, turn on.\n\nThe power adapter supplies power to turn on the computer in the same time as it charges the battery. When the laptop is charging, the battery is not used. This is why battery live longer if you keep on pluggin in your laptop, and sure you can remove the battery.\n\nSometimes I even unplug the battery without turning off the laptop. But I wouldn't suggest this as this may possibly damage the circuitry in the long run.\nMy 3 years old laptop battery recently fails to hold a charge, because its old and I use it extensively. Now I'm using it without battery. It's much lighter to carry now :D.\n\nHowever, you should be careful with the battery.\nIt's not good to store the battery too long in certain condition. I suppose your laptop is a modern one and uses Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery. Lithium Ion battery is an unstable chemical, as with other battery. It will degrade in quality and capacity over time. But it will degrade faster under certain conditions:\n1. Too hot or stored in a hot case/room (for example in a car under sunlight).\n2. Charged full (100%) and then not used for a long time.\nThe battery will also die if you empty or near-empty the battery (like 0 or 1%) and then remove and then store it for a couple of days to weeks. Li-Ion batter has a certain threshold of voltage and if it reaches a certain low voltage, it will explode if recharged. There is a mechanism in the battery that will prevent the battery to be recharged if the voltage reached very low levels, and it will not explode, but you will have to buy a new battery.\n\nSo, if you want to store your battery, make sure to store it when it is around 40% charge. This is the optimal charge that will make it live longer and you can store it like 1-2months.\n\nThanks for 2 points.
261729
Is your computer plugged in?  Can you be a little less specific?
32205
It depends on the laptop but if you are going on a trip you should give it a full day charge
456935
You laptop should come with a care and instruction manual. When it comes to actually operating it, it won't be much different than using the computer you are on right now. Just bear in mind that you need to keep the battery charged.
1559
Nope you really should not. Most batteries are lithium ion batteries that develop a memory over time. I learned that the hard way. I always left my laptop plugged in, and in a year my battery was completely dead. From what I know, you should do a complete cycle of the battery at least once a month. That means at least once a month, drain the battery to empty and charge it up again. Dont cycle too often though because that too shortens battery life spans... Soo just keep in moderation. Dont always leave it plugged in, but dont always rely only on your battery either.
580663
Are you turning the computer OFF or STANDBY?
859540
I use a laptop and seldom switch it off.Usually like for and hour or two in a week..But it runs perfect and is not slow at all..I live in canada and tend to keep my window open ..Now it is winter and I havent switched off my notebook for 1 week..The room temperature has been varying between -2 to +2 degree C..depending on the time of the day..
496253
We in the USA never unplug things.\nWe have a great many things in every room of our houses and they always stay plugged in all the time.\n\nI can look right now at three lamps plugged in, about 20 pieces of computer equipment all plugged in, a huge TV, a DVD player, A VCR, and an electric piano, that all stay plugged in all the time.
1180558
Since you only use it a few times a day and being a laptop I would say the best thing for you to do is to Hibernate it.  This will turn the laptop off but will write all the running applications to the hard drive so Windows can be resumed faster than if you just shut it down.  Hibernate uses no power and is very similar to standby except standby maintains power to the memory so Winodws will resume even faster than if you had just put it in Standby.  If you are going to walk away for just a few minutes, leave it on.\n\nTo be even more power conscious you could put it in Hibernate and then unplug it.  If you don't know (because I can never tell) hold down shift at the shutdown menu to get the Hibernate option.  But when you are done using it for the day, shut it down.
982557
I believe most laptops either have a standby or hibernate feature where after a certain time the laptop shuts off automatically. i don't think it's bad to leave it on all night, but if you're laptop has this feature, there's no need to worry about it. it'll turn off by itself.
1146817
This is one of those questions where there is no single right answer. In other words, it depends on how you use your computer. \n\nThere are at least three situations that force you to leave your computer on 24 hours a day: \n\nYou are on a network, and the network administrators back up files and/or upgrade software over the network at night. If that is the case, and you want your machine backed up or upgraded, then you need to leave it on all the time. \n\nYou are using your machine as some sort of server. For example, HowStuffWorks has a machine that creates the images for the How Webcams Work article. It needs to be on 24 hours a day. If your machine acts as a file server, print server, Web server, etc., on a LAN (local area network) or the Internet, then you need to leave it on all the time. \n\nIf you are running something like SETI@home and you want to produce as many result sets as possible, you need to leave your machine on all the time. \nIf you do not fall into any of these categories, then you have a choice about whether or not to leave your machine on. \nOne reason why you might want to turn it off is economic. A typical PC consumes something like 300 watts. Let's assume that you use your PC for four hours every day, so the other 20 hours it is on would be wasted energy. If electricity costs 10 cents per kilowatt-hour in your area, then that 20 hours represents 60 cents a day. Sixty cents a day adds up to $219 per year. \n\nIt's possible to use the energy-saving features build into modern machines and cut that figure in half. For example, you can have the monitor and hard disk power down automatically when not in use. You'll still be wasting $100 per year. \n\nThe argument for leaving your computer on all the time is that turning it on and off somehow stresses the computer's components. For example, when the CPU chip is running, it can get quite hot, and when you turn the machine off it cools back down. The expansion and contraction from the heat probably has some effect on the solder joints holding the chip in place, and on the micro-fine details on the chip itself. But here are three ways to look at that: \n\nIf it were a significant problem, then machines would be failing all the time. In fact, hardware is very reliable (software is a whole different story, and there is a lot to be said for rebooting every day). \nI don't know a single person who leaves the TV on 24 hours a day. TVs contain many of the same components that computers do. TVs certainly have no problems being cycled on and off. \nMost vendors will sell you a three-year full-replacement warrantee for about $150. If you are worried about it, spend some of the money you are saving by turning your machine off and buy a service contract. Over three years, you come out way ahead!