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    Any update for the battery on/off function?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by ryedogg, Jun 5, 2010.

  1. ryedogg

    ryedogg Notebook Enthusiast

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    I know this topic has been brought up before but I was wondering if there was some kind of update on the Dell website for a fix. I haven't seen any recent discussions regarding this issue and I thought this was one of the cooler features of the m11x. Too bad it hasn't been working like it should have.
     
    ryedogg, Jun 5, 2010
    #1
  2. vorob

    vorob Notebook Deity

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    dell said that FN + F2 is not for disabling battery charge.

    btw, whats the point in disabling batt. charge? from my p.o.v. absolutely useless feature.
     
    vorob, Jun 5, 2010
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  3. ryedogg

    ryedogg Notebook Enthusiast

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    Oh really? I just thought that having the battery constantly charged will drain it's battery life over time.
     
    ryedogg, Jun 5, 2010
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  4. philburkhardt

    philburkhardt Notebook Consultant

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    Nah, it shouldn't.

    Search around here. There are a number of people that have been running laptops more powerful than the M11x, for years without any change in battery life while constantly charging.
     
    philburkhardt, Jun 5, 2010
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  5. vorob

    vorob Notebook Deity

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    From what i know, normally, battery controller charges battery up to 100% and then turn charging off, waiting until battery will go down for 95% and charges again. Something like that. So its not constantly charging 100%-99%-100%-99% :)

    Going down from 100% to 95% takes much time... Maybe few days. So it may disable charging on Monday, and restore on Wednesday, just to make +5%... Of course 95% is my thought, it can be 90%...
     
    vorob, Jun 5, 2010
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  6. Rhodan

    Rhodan NBR Expert of Nothing

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    Lithium-Ion batteries degrade overtime no matter how much they are used. As soon as the battery has been manufactured it begins loosing capacity and after 3-4 years will most likely need to be replaced no matter how many charge cycles.

    It's important to check the manufacturing date when buying a Lithium-Ion battery, a year old cell will not last has long as one that was manufactured a few weeks ago.
     
    Rhodan, Jun 5, 2010
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  7. philburkhardt

    philburkhardt Notebook Consultant

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    Agreed, but I am talking about the difference between having it always plugged in and charging or having charging disabled. All batteries, like most other things, are going to degrade after time. I don't know about needing to replace after 3-4 years though. I have laptops kicking around that are 4 years old, and I can barely tell the difference. Heck, I have a Panasonic Toughbook with Windows 95 kicking around, that is still running off the original battery.
     
    philburkhardt, Jun 6, 2010
    #7