How to improve laptop battery life

There are things you can do to extend your laptop’s battery life. Some you might be doing already, but there are others you may not. Here’s how to improve laptop battery life.

  1. Dim the screen

By far the biggest power drain on most laptops is the screen. Or, to be more specific, the screen’s backlight. This is what enables you to see the colours on an LCD screen, and some older laptops have power-sapping fluorescent backlights. Modern laptops have LED backlights, but even these use a fair amount of juice.

Dimming the screen brightness can add 30 minutes or more to your battery life. Virtually all laptops have keyboard shortcuts to adjust the brightness. Typically, you’ll hold the Fn key and press one of the function keys in the top row, or one of the cursor keys labelled with a sun symbol.

If not, hold the Windows key and press X. This will open up the Mobility Center where you can change the brightness, and this works in all versions of Windows.

  1. Change the power settings

By default, your laptop might be set to Windows’ ‘Balanced’ setting rather than Power Saver. In the Control Panel search for Power Options and check which Power Plan is selected. Don’t forget that Windows uses different power and performance settings depending on whether it is running on mains or battery power.

You should find a battery saver option, and it’s simply a case of selecting it and closing the window. If not, click on ‘Show additional plans’. If there’s still nothing, you can customise a power plan by clicking Change plan settings next to a profile.

You should set the screen to turn off after a couple of minutes, and set the laptop to sleep if nothing appears to be happening after five or 10 minutes.

If you delve into the advanced power settings, you can tweak things to your liking, setting when the system hibernates and which components should use their maximum power saving profiles (including, on some laptops, the graphics card and Wi-Fi adapter).

  1. Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

If you’re not using them, disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Both radios can use a fair amount of power, so it makes sense to turn them off when you’re on battery power. Most laptops have a switch or key combination to disable Wi-Fi, but Bluetooth can be trickier.

  1. Don’t leave your laptop on permanent charge

Lithium-ion batteries are relatively clever in that they can’t be overcharged, but it’s not good for the long-term health of your battery to leave your laptop always plugged in to the mains. Some manufacturers (including Sony and Lenovo) provide a utility which limits the battery from fully charging.

This helps to prevent battery degradation and means you can leave the laptop always connected to the mains. When you want to use your laptop on battery power and get maximum battery life, disable the limiter and allow the laptop to charge to 100 percent.

  1. Disconnect remove unnecessary peripherals

Leaving a disc in your DVD drive is a sure way to reduce battery life, as it might spin up whenever you launch a Windows Explorer window or access the Save option in an application.

Any USB accessories you leave connected, such as portable hard disks or USB web cams will also draw power, so disconnect them if they’re not needed.

  1. Get a second battery

We mentioned this at the start, but why not invest in a spare battery? They’re available for many laptops, and you might even find that your laptop can accept a higher-capacity than was supplied originally.

Other laptops allow you to remove the CD or DVD drive and install a second battery in its place.

If your laptop doesn’t have a removable battery then consider buying a universal laptop battery that comes with a variety of ‘tips’ to suit just about any laptop. You simply charge it up, choose the appropriate tip and connect it to your laptop’s power socket when the internal battery runs low. The external battery charges the internal battery or, if you remove the internal battery, powers the laptop directly.

  1. Buy a new battery

Contrary to popular belief, laptop batteries are consumables – like printer ink. Batteries aren’t designed to last the lifetime of the laptop, and that’s why – if you check the small print on the warranty statement – you’ll probably find that the battery isn’t covered, or is guaranteed for a shorter period than the laptop.

  1. Upgrade to an SSD

Mechanical hard disks, which are still common in laptops, require a fair few watts to spin their platters. A solid-state drive, on the other hand, uses less power as it has no moving parts.

  1. Switch to internal graphics

If your laptop has an AMD or Nvidia graphics chip, there’s a good chance it will also have integrated graphics (usually Intel). In theory, it should be set up so the powerful graphics chip is only used when playing games or running demanding applications, but you should check whether this is the case.

As with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, manufacturers sometimes offer a utility to manually switch between graphics chips. You may have to reboot, but most modern designs allow you to switch on the fly.

  1. Manage your memory

If you’re the sort who has 10 or even 20 tabs open in your web browser, you’ll benefit from longer battery life by culling those tabs. The same goes for running lots of applications at the same time.

When you run lots of programs, or have lots of photos open in an editor, you’ll use up all the free system memory. Anything extra has to be ‘paged’ to the hard disk, which as we’ve said, is a mechanical device in many laptops.

Sony Mainboard Dip Switches What Are They Used For?

When performing a repair on a Sony laptop, you may have noticed some DIP switches on certain Sony laptop systemboards. But what are DIP switches and what are they used for?

DIP switches get their name for an acronym: Dual-line Input Package. They are essentially a bank of switches that control the connection of certain circuits on the Sony mainboard. Some common uses of DIP switches are remote controls, where the switches can be used to send and receive a unique signal to avoid interference with other remote devices.

When it comes to their use in Sony laptop parts, however, DIP switches are often used on the mainboard. They can have a variety of uses. One common use is to set the clock speed and operating parameters of the CPU. If one mainboard is designed to work with multiple processor types, for example, setting the DIP switches can change the voltage and clock speed to accommodate more than one type of CPU. They are also used when multiple LCD Screens are used on a model and resolutions or other parameters are different. If these settings are required, make sure you get the switch information from your spare parts supplier.

Over the past few years, DIP switches have become much less common, particularly in laptops, as limited space has caused manufacturers to do away with any components that are not essential. Also, issues such as IRQ conflicts have become much less common with modern hardware and software, eliminating the need for these types of uses.

So is there any reason to change the DIP switch settings on your Sony laptop mainboard? In almost every case, the answer is no. Mainboards ship from the factory pre-configured, so there is essentially no reason to change them unless you have a very specific instruction to do so, replacing your mainboard or doing some other type of mainboard repair.

HP Breaks the 24 Hour Battery Life mark with the 6930p

With dramatic improvements in battery technology and reductions in the energy needs of modern laptops, consumers are benefiting from longer and longer battery life in laptops and notebooks. HP has recently broken a new barrier of battery life, however, by providing up to 24 hours of battery life on their HP EliteBook 6930p when equipped with an optional ultra-capacity battery.

It wasn’t long ago that notebook and laptop manufacturers were boasting about 8 hours of battery life, noting that it was enough to get through an entire work day. But HP has now allowed users to work for an entire 24-hour period without a recharge.

The secret lies not only in excellent battery technology, but in great power management as well. The HP EliteBook 6930p includes a number of features that help reduce its power consumption. The HP Illumi-Lite LED display uses LED backlighting to increase battery time by as much as four hours. The machine also includes an SSD (solid-state drive) which has no moving parts unlike a traditional hard drive, which uses less power as well.

It is important to note that the laptop in its standard configuration will not supply the 24 hours of battery life achieved in tests, however. Buyers must add the ultra-capacity battery, which is available as an option when purchasing or as an add-on after purchase. Buyers must also choose the 14.1 inch display with the Illumi-Lite LED backlighting option as well. While both of these options add to the cost, the benefits of such long battery life will make the upgrade cost worth it in the long run.

Travelers and mobile professionals who need to power their laptop for long periods of time without recharging will certainly love the freedom offered by the 6930p. While many users may not have a need for such long battery life, HP’s achievement is extremely impressive.

The iPhone 8 back glass is more expensive to fix than the screen

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus‘ most obvious design change is the switch to a glossy, glass back. There was a chance this glass would be priced at or around the same price as a cracked screen under AppleCare+, but that’s apparently not the case: AppleInsider confirmed today that a broken back won’t qualify for a $29 screen replacement. It’ll instead be subject to an “other damage” fee of $99 (plus tax).

Apple gives users two screen replacements and two miscellaneous damage incidents at the $29 and $99 price respectively. After that point, the damage price jumps to $349 for the iPhone 8, and $399 for the iPhone 8 Plus. So basically, don’t crack your phone’s glass or else you’re going to be dishing out lots of cash. AppleCare+ costs $129 for the iPhone 8 and $149 for the iPhone 8 Plus.

We don’t have pricing for the iPhone X’s repairs yet. We know Apple will charge $199 for its warranty program, but the company hasn’t said how much it’ll charge for a screen replacement or broken glass. We can probably assume a new screen will cost more than $29, as the screen is already supposed to be somewhat limited in supply. Cherish the original screen or pay up, I guess.

What is Motherboard “Tattooing” and what does it mean for your motherboard?

You may have heard the term “tattooing” applied to motherboards, and wondered what the term means. A motherboard tattoo is a code that is imprinted on a specific motherboard that locks it to a specific disc, such as a diagnostic or recovery disc that is packaged with the machine. This process is a sort of copy protection that keeps users from using the recovery disc of one machine to install the operating system and other tools onto an unauthorized machine.

The “tattoo” is generally a bit of code programmed into the BIOS of the laptop system boards. When a user attempts to boot from the disc, the BIOS compares the code to the one on the disc, and if the codes don’t match, the system will not boot from the disc. This is common with many HP laptop system boards.

While this system is generally a fairly reasonable way to keep discs from being used on unauthorized systems, it also creates a serious problem for some users who have lost their original disc. Since the system is also tied directly to the disc, a user who has lost their original disc may not have any way to boot a troubled system without the recovery disc, since the system will not boot from an unauthorized disc. In many cases, the solution is to reprogram the BIOS to accept a new disc, which may require sending the computer to the manufacturer for a laptop repair and reprogramming of the chip.

If you have a recovery disc that will not boot with your computer, or you have lost the recovery disc that came with your computer and have no way to boot or repair it, you should contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer may have some options for helping you to repair or recover your system and get it back to a working state. If the problem requires a replacement part, visit our homepage to view parts for your specific model.

T-Mobile and Sprint could announce their merger in October

T-Mobile and Sprint’s on-again, off-again merger talks may be nearing a conclusion. Reuters reports that the two companies are now “close” to reaching “tentative terms” on a merger and could announce a deal by the end of October.

The merger would reportedly give T-Mobile’s owner, Deutsche Telekom, a majority stake in the combined company, while Sprint’s owner, SoftBank, would have somewhere between 40 and 50 percent. T-Mobile CEO John Legere would lead the combined company, according to Reuters.

Those terms are a big flip from what SoftBank had envisioned when it first proposed a merger several years ago. At the time, T-Mobile was struggling, and Sprint was looking at absorbing the then-tinier carrier. In the years since, however, T-Mobile has revitalized its business with aggressive promotions that undercut Verizon and AT&T, and it’s since moved up above Sprint, which is now the carrier desperate for attention.

A deal never happened years ago largely because, under Obama, the FCC was pretty clear that it wouldn’t be approved due to concerns about market consolidation. But with the Trump administration, that’s no longer a worry. It’s pretty much a sure thing that the merger would go through.

Reuters says the combined company would have over 130 million subscribers, barely behind AT&T and Verizon. At the end of last year, AT&T had close to 135 million subscribers and Verizon had close to 146 million.

There’d been some discussion of Sprint potentially ending up with other companies, including Charter or a joint venture between Charter and Comcast. It’s not entirely clear why that fizzled out, but it’s possible Sprint was trying to make negotiations harder for T-Mobile, which always seemed to be Sprint’s most interested suitor.

Common Issues with Lithium-Ion Batteries

Over the past several years, lithium-ion batteries have been the preferred technology, not just for laptop batteries, but also for a number of electronic devices such as cell phones and MP3 players. Some of the main reasons for their popularity are that they are inexpensive to manufacture and that they don’t exhibit many of the issues that plague older technologies, such as the “memory effect” which can cause a dramatic decrease in capacity. Lithium-ion batteries can still have problems, however. Here, we will explore a few of the main issues that can affect lithium-ion batteries.

Decreased Capacity

The main problem with lithium-ion batteries is that they tend to lose some of their capacity over time. This is caused by deposits that form inside the electrolyte of the battery, which eventually inhibits the transport of ions. Eventually the battery loses a large amount of its capacity and needs to be repaired or replaced.

Overheating

Lithium-ion batteries tend to heat up when being charged or discharged. Generally, this is not enough heat to cause any concern, but if the battery malfunctions, it may cause a large amount of heat. In extreme cases, batteries may even bulge or catch fire, though these cases are very rare. Li-ion batteries have many safety features to protect against these kinds of malfunctions.

Not Charging When Plugged In

In some cases, a laptop battery will not register as charging even when the laptop is plugged in. Check to make sure the battery is correctly inserted and that the AC adapter is connected securely to the laptop and the wall outlet. In most cases, this problem is caused by a bad AC adapter or a defective DC jack on the laptop instead of the battery itself.

Despite the few issues mentioned above, lithium-ion batteries tend to be very robust and reliable. Lithium-ion will continue to be the battery of choice for quite a few more years, even as it is slowly replaced by newer technologies.

Anatomy of a laptop battery

While most people would consider a laptop to be a very complex machine, a laptop battery is a very complex device as well. It has many components that combine to give users the portable power they need. Here we will look at what makes up a modern laptop battery.

The most common type of laptop batteries in use today are lithium ion batteries. A lithium ion battery has three main components. There is an anode, which is made from carbon or graphite, a cathode, made of metal oxide, and an electrolyte, which is lithium salt in a solvent. When the laptop is drawing power from the battery, it is known as discharge. When discharging, the lithium ions carry current from the negative electrode to the positive. When recharging, the lithium ions carry the current in the opposite direction, from positive to negative.

Laptop batteries are somewhat susceptible to damage if mistreated. For example, lithium ion batteries are sensitive to heat, and can fail or even swell or burst in extreme temperatures. For this reason, it is imperative to read and follow all safety instructions for your laptop and battery. There are a number of safety features required for laptop batteries in order to protect users from harmful accidents. Batteries must be equipped with a thermal interrupt, which protects from overcurrent and overcharging. They also must have a vent, which allows heat and pressure to escape. There is also a shut-down separator for shutting down the battery if it gets too hot, and a “tear-away tab” for releasing internal pressure in a dangerous situation.

Laptop batteries have gotten some negative press in the past few years, due to manufacturing problems that caused many batteries to fail, which prompted many recalls and repairs. These were mainly manufacturing problems, however, and laptop batteries with the safety features included should be very safe to use and operate, as long as safety guidelines are followed.

Sony Laptop Batteries

As one of the largest companies in the world, Sony has a reputation for quality. Sony’s laptops, especially their VAIO series, are often chosen by high-end users who need quality and style in their laptop.

Sony is one of the few laptop manufacturers to make their own laptop batteries. In fact, they also make laptop batteries for many other manufacturers. The majority of the batteries they make use lithium-ion technology. Lithium-ion is chosen for its long battery life, its large power-to-weight ratio, and lack of the “memory effect” that affects older battery technologies.

When shopping for a replacement for a Sony laptop battery, you should carefully remove the old battery to look for a model number or serial number that will help identify the replacement. First, shut down the laptop and disconnect its AC Adapter and power cord. Turn the laptop over and find the release slider or button that releases the Sony laptop battery, then carefully remove it.

The easiest way to find a replacement for your Sony laptop battery is to use a parts locator tool, or a part number search, available at many online retailers. This tool allows users to enter their laptop or battery model number, and will then display compatible parts for replacement. Since many laptop batteries are only compatible with specific models, it is important to ensure that the Sony laptop battery you buy is compatible with your exact model.

When shopping, you may be given the option of buying an OEM battery or a compatible battery. A compatible laptop battery is one made with the same specifications of the original battery, but at a lower price, since it is not made by the manufacturer of the laptop. When buying compatible batteries, ensure that you are buying from a reputable seller that guarantees the quality of their products.

Once you have your new battery, simply replace it in the same way you removed your old battery, power up your laptop and ensure that your new battery is working.

Apple MC556LL/A Laptop AC Adapter Review

The Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter is the highest wattage available in this line of Apple MacBook AC adapters. It is designed for use with any 15 or 17 inch MacBook Pro models.

These MagSafe Apple laptop AC adapters bear the companies landmark magnetic design. Rather than plugging into a jack on your MacBook, these adapters instead latch onto your machine via a magnetic connection. Aside from giving your machine a very cool design factor, this is actually a very functional design. First, this design is as efficient as any DC jack connection. However, this magnetic connection is much faster, easier, and more convenient to attach and remove. Also, it doesn’t require any more parts on your machine, which means there’s less to break or require repair.

This is actually a safety feature of the machine as well. A common source of damage to both typical laptop AC adapters and DC jacks is caused when someone trips over or hits the cord connecting the adapter to the machine. In a DC jack connection, this connection is rigid, and the force can bend pins or jacks, or cause stress on the cord and connections themselves, which can damage or outright break your components. With this magnetic connection, the cord simply falls away, with no damage to either component, and even without any kind of accident, a much longer lifespan for your adapter.

Just like Apple’s innovative laptop batteries, these adapters also bear an LED light indicator indicating to you the status of its charging or running state. An amber light indicates your battery is charging, while a green light tells you your battery is fully charged. These adapters are designed with a unique shape as well, meant for the cord to wrap neatly and securely around its own cube designed plug, for convenient storage and portability.