15 Ways to Increase Laptop Battery Life

Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:32PM EDT While laptop chips have become better and better at saving power, other changes, like more powerful laptop graphics cards, faster hard drives, and Windows Vista, have erased many of those gains. So, you'll need to take it upon yourself to improve your laptop's battery life if you really want to go the extra mile. And while that can be a confusing and tricky process, this blog post offers some helpful advice so you don't have to go it alone. Among the 15 suggestions offered at Friedbeef's Tech (hey, I didn't name it), here are the ones that will really impact your battery the most. Add more RAM - More RAM means the computer will access the hard drive less frequently, and the hard drive uses much more power than your RAM sticks. Dim your screen - Those big, "ultra-bright" displays really suck down the power. Dimming your screen just 20 percent can add a good chunk of time to your battery life. Unplug external devices - Anything plugged in via USB, FireWire, or PC Card/ExpressCard draws power from your computer. Yes, even your mouse. And of course, turn off your Wi-Fi radio when you don't need it. Minimize CD/DVD use - Optical drives are probably the worst offender on your notebook when it comes to battery use. Unless you're watching a movie, don't even leave a disc in the optical drive, as Windows loves to occasionally read it, just to check on things... The post doesn't exactly mention it, but don't forget about the Power Options control panel in Windows, which will let you manage hard drive auto-spin-down, screen brightness, and other settings in one central location. It's a great first place to start... then check out Friedbeef's 11 other tips! Extreme Laptop Batteries Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:59PM EDT Reader Joseph Neubauer writes: I have a laptop, and I am planning a trip to Brazil. Well, the flight is about 10 hours, but my battery lasts for about 2 hours. What can I do? Joseph, you have a fair number of options to solve this predicament. I'll tackle them from easiest/cheapest to most difficult/most expensive. First, check if the airplane has EmPower ports. Many long-haul aircraft do, and you can buy an inexpensive adapter that will keep you charged for the entire flight. Try looking up your aircraft on SeatGuru, or call your airline if you can't find the information there. (Note that some airplanes have standard AC power plugs and even cigarette power plugs instead of the more common EmPower.) The Kensington AC adapter I wrote about a few weeks ago includes all three types of plugs. If your plane has no power ports, you'll need an extra battery. I recommend first checking if your laptop manufacturer offers an extended battery made specifically for your machine. For example, HP's "Ultra-Capacity Battery" promises up to 10 hours of extra running time on top of your primary battery. Capacities vary from vendor to vendor, but you shouldn't pay more than $200 for a battery that will keep you running for the entire flight. I recommend these batteries because they usually plug right into your notebook through a special port in the bottom, so you needn't worry about compatibility issues, extra wires, or having to charge the battery separately. If you can't find a matching add-on battery from your manufacturer, you can still obtain extra juice from a third party. Valence and Hi-Capacity are two companies that are well known here: Both make battery slabs that you place under your notebook and plug into the power port with a small cable. It's inelegant, but you can get close to 10 hours of extra charge, depending on the size of your laptop. I tested both of these in this story I wrote late last year. Finally, you can always break down and just buy more standard batteries for your computer. I know people who travel with a briefcase full of extra batteries rattling around, and they're constantly shutting down their computer and fumbling for another battery, hoping that it's got a bit of charge left on it. This is the heaviest, most expensive, and least interesting way to go, and I don't recommend it at all, but hey, it's a shockingly common solution to the problem.