What should a good length for a laptop battery life?
538403
at least 3 hours\n\n1.5 hours is horrible.. dont even expect to TRY to run windows vista with that lousy battery guzzling laptop
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".
951550
The storage capacity of small batteries is generally rated in milliampere hours (mAh).  For example, an "AAA" size nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery is rated at about 850 mAh, whereas a "D" size NiMH battery is rated at 2500 mAh.  What this means is that the voltage produced by the battery remains relatively constant for one hour when the battery is supplying the specified current in milliamperes.  This is considered the useful life of the battery, before it must be recharged (if it is a type that is rechargeable).  The battery voltage starts to drop rapidly after the mAh capacity has been consumed, until the battery is drained.\n\nIf the load on the battery is, say, 50% of the rated load, the useful life of the battery is approximately two hours.  Conversely, if the load is 200% of the rated load, the useful life of the battery is approximately a half hour.  In actuality a reduced load will result in a battery life somewhat longer than would be expected by the mAh rating, whereas an increased load would will result in a shorter life than expected.\n\nThere are other factors that come into play, such as the internal resistance of the battery, but these are beyond the scope of your question.\n\nHowever, you should know that most electronic devices draw a current that is much less than the mAh rating of the recommended battery.  (Who would want to change or recharge batteries every hour?)  The actual current usually varies, depending on the user settings or activity.  For example, a higher radio volume requires more battery current.\n\nTo answer your second question, you can substitute a battery with a higher mAh rating as long as the voltage is the same.  This will give you a correspondingly longer useful battery life.  On the other hand, substituting a battery with a lower mAh rating may not work well because the higher internal resistance mentioned above will give a somewhat reduced battery voltage.
146
Weight and dimensions are important if you're planning to travel with the laptop. Get something with at least 512 mb of RAM, built-in wireless, and CD/DVD burner.  Dell is a good brand, and has an easy to use site where you can build a custom laptop.
879074
you know the sname of ur laptop go to there website there should be some histrory on ur type of laptop should tell you what the maximum of ram can go into it
918618
1.  Disconnect the battery physically from the laptop - let it discharge for a few minutes.\n 2.  Put the battery back into the laptop.\n 3.  Boot up laptop and charge battery.\n 4.  Shut down laptop and unplug adapter from wall and laptop.\n 5.  Boot up laptop\nIf the battery does not maintain a charge at this point, it's probably a goner and needs replaced if you would like to do work independently of a power adapter.
58370
"Gb's" would refer to the size of the hard drive, generally. Most laptops tend to have a 40 or 60 GB hard drive. It's more than likely that you'll never fill a hard drive that big, so if it has 40, don't worry too much. \n\nThe previous commenter was referring to RAM. Most laptops will run perfectly fine with 512MB of RAM, which is less than 1 GB. You'd only need that much if you were doing high-end gaming.
641122
If your notebook has been used on the mains most of the time like citaloraming says fully discharge the battery then charge it overnight Do this for 5 nights on the trot This will now give you the max you can get out of that battery\nHow long a battery will last has no answer as it depends on how hard you are working the machine and what processor is fitted the Standard P4 processors run so hot that 45 to 60 Min's is the best you can hope for Don't forget that a lot of the budget laptops have only 6 cell batteries fitted and again 45 to 60 Min's is around the average Once again do a google search on the model of your laptop and look for the spec on a new model If the battery is more than 2 years old and you are getting 45 mins count your blessing
491648
Hi,\nMake sure that you buy a laptop that comes with either:\n1.ATI X1400 (pretty good video card for laptop)\n2.ATI X1600 (better than x1400 recommended for gaming)\n3.ATI x1800 (ATI's best video card for laptop)\n4.Nvidia Geforce GO 7900GTX (this is the best video card!,This is the king of all the video cards for laptop)\n5.Geforce Go 7600 (Pretty good video card for laptop gaming)\n\nWell here is my list, I also need to let you know that the better the video card is the more power it needs so by buying the best video card you will get fewer hours/min of battery life. For battery life and gaming together I would recommend ATI X1400 or Nvidia Go 7600
174897
1.\nPower down all nonessential functions. Switch it off if you're not using it. Many business travelers already know that you don't want to take the DVD player for a spin on the plane, and that every time you hit "save" it can set the hard-drive whirring, which devours even more power. "But users often also forget to turn off their wireless card when they are no longer using it but are still using their computer," notes Mike Fuller, executive vice president of PC Laptops, a Sandy, Utah, laptop manufacturer. "When the wireless card is on, it still continually searches for networks." In Windows XP, click on "Power Options" in your control panel. It allows you to reduce the power consumption of any number of your computer devices or of your entire system.\n \n2.\nStay out of extreme temperatures. The technology that powers you battery isn't terribly complicated. But it's important to understand a little bit about the chemistry behind batteries, and how that can affect your work. Specifically, temperatures can affect the performance of your battery. It's best to use (and especially charge) your batteries at room temperatures. Extreme conditions can drain your battery quickly. Also, avoid partial charges and use the battery until it is dead. Battery experts liken partial charges — and discharges — to eating a cup of lard every day. It significantly shortens your battery's life. Considering that a lithium-ion battery can explode if it's improperly used, it could also shorten your life.\n \n3.\nLet your laptop do the saving. Not every computing device handles a power source in the same way. Some of the more sophisticated laptops, which are designed with business travelers in mind, are misers when it comes to using power. And that's a good thing — if you can remember to take advantage of it. "Most users make the mistake of simply not choosing to use a product's built-in ability to conserve battery life," says Dan Coffman, a senior product manager for PC manufacturer ViewSonic. How do you harness your PC's built-in ability to save? Consult your user manual. Often, calibrating your laptop is as easy as double-clicking on the battery icon in the toolbar.\n \n4.\nAlways, always carry a spare device that uses batteries. How obvious is that? Well, if you're trying to keep under the onerous new airline weight-limits, it isn't. But as Rick Thompson, director of engineering at Valence Technology in Austin, Texas, observes, "the availability of 'free' power outside of your hotel room is not predictable." That's a nice way of saying it. In fact, I sometimes think airport terminals, car-rental facilities and hotels try to hide the power outlets from us to keep us from accessing their free power. Thompson recommends a system that can simultaneously charge a second portable device such as a cell phone or PDA, allowing you to multitask your battery operations.
72395
I would always suggest www.dell.com - The 600m and 700m are really small laptops with nice battery life. Although I have to admit I am biast to dell as I've used them for 15 years.\n\nJust look at the dimensions of the laptop to get the smallest one - but realize - the smaller the laptop usually the higher the price.
88385
Charge time:\nAbout 3 hours (1.5-hour fast charge to 80% capacity)
17256
The best way to make it last longest is to make sure you let the battery drain.  Fully recharge it and use it until it is completley drained.  Just do that over and over and it should last a long time.  \n\nMany Ni-Cd and rechargables in general will last longer if you cycle up and down.  \n\nDo NOT always leave it at low power and try not to always leave it fully charged.
32205
It depends on the laptop but if you are going on a trip you should give it a full day charge
888988
With a laptop or notebook you need to make sure its going to last a few years. Make sure it has 1GB RAM or over. Also it will need a minimum of 60GB hard disk drive. As well make sure you get a three year warranty with transport insurance.
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.
165330
Well looks like the new battery is a higher mah than the original that should give you more time. I would try using any battery utilities that your computer came with some may even be in the bios, try draining the battery till dead then recharge all night. if this does not work you have a bum battery.