How to Conserve Laptop Power

It is estimated that every year, laptop batteries become %10 more efficient, and that seems perfect for any user until you hear the other half of the news. Each year, computer technology also requires at least %10 more energy which makes it seem that one will never have a battery that lasts longer than several hours.

Although I can’t promise you new batteries with twice the charge, I can offer you various tips to conserving your battery power on those long trips without an outlet.

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  1. Dim your screen; It doesn’t have to be much, but even a lower setting by several ticks can save a lot of battery power.

  2. Stay cool; try to keep your laptop in a well ventilated area, a higher temperature means less efficiency when your computer is running.

  3. Don’t multi-task; by doing one task at a time you spare your computer from having to run extra programs and tasks in the background pointlessly while you write an e-mail. As well, more RAM may be used resulting in the use of virtual memory which uses your hard drive; RAM is much more efficient than moving the hard drive, so stick to one item at a time.

  4. Reduce use of moving parts; If you’re planning on watching a DVD, copy the movie to your hard drive before hand; the DVD drive uses A LOT of power to spin that DVD (even when it’s not reading it), so just keep it empty.

  5. Reduce use of external accessories; most external devices use laptop power to run such as a USB key, so don’t use them or at least don’t keep them plugged into your computer.

  6. Adjust your power options; criteria such as when the screen turns off, the performance of the graphics card, and other components can be fine tuned to conserve energy.

  7. Disable your wireless; every laptop has a fn + ‘x’ button that disables their wireless capabilities which saves energy (how much depends on your laptop).

  8. Turn off Scheduled tasks; anti-virus scans, and other scheduled tasks should be turned off obviously.

  9. Reduce notification bar tasks; quite that msn messenger and skype, exit utorrent, and close down anything that is not required like photo transfer software and the likes.

  10. Hibernate! Set your computer to hibernate after several minutes of inactivity; it’s better than sleep because the current state is saved to the hard drive and the laptop is completely shut down rather than sleep or hybrid sleep in Vista which both still use some battery power.

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Other tips for future thought:

  1. Getting more RAM reduces the use of virtual memory use which also increases battery efficiency
  2. Unplug your laptop while it’s in hibernation to ensure as much power is the battery as  possible
  3. Plug in wherever you get a chance, even if it’s for a couple minutes
  4. Consider carrying an extra battery if you’re constantly traveling and it’s important to have ultimate protability.

Provided By: www.CorradoComputers.com

Written By: Corrado Cioci

Published: August 18th, 2008