So I just got a new battery from Dell.....need tips!

I was wondering what I should do to prolong the life of a new battery that Dell just sent me. I have the 9 cell and my last battery only lasted about 8 months before it wouldnt charge anymore. I mainly use my laptop on a/c power 24/7 and I would like to keep the battery capacity as close to full as long as possible as I can. I have the 3-prong a/c adapter but Dell sent me a replacement 2 prong.

 

I don't do anything special to my batteries and they last ages. My Latitude d610 still runs about 2:30 after 3,5 years. It only lost about 10-15% of battery capacity. My newer Inspiron has almost the same capacity as delivered, only about 5-10% loss.

 

how can we know the battery lost their capacity , please give tool name to check that

 

I dont know what tools are out there I just know my battery stoped holding a charge or even charging!

 

I would say unplug the battery when its on 90% charge when running on AC. Other then that, keep it not to warm and avoid small recharges.

 

There is an NBR Battery Thread here.

 

broken link D:

 

The dreaded double HTTP!!!

Thanks. It's fixed.

 

basic care for all batteries {notebook, cellphones, mp3 players...} is simple....

1. when u use battery mode, make sure u use it till battery is empty. so never charge battery when there is still some power {f.e. 43 %}

2. when u charge it , make sure u charge it fully

 

Then take out the battery . That is the best way.

 

Wrong on both counts for Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries.. The more you charge cycle it, the faster it'll lose capacity.. Li-ion batteries prefer partial discharges. If you can, never discharge the battery below 20%...

For further reading, try the Battery Guide.. and www.batteryuniversity.com

 

thanks for nice link...u right:
Manufacturers rate the lithium-ion battery at an 80% depth of discharge. Repeated full (100%) discharges would lower the specified cycle count. It is therefore recommended to charge lithium-ion more often rather than letting it discharge down too low. Periodic full discharges are not needed because lithium-ion is not affected by memory.

 

is there any programs out there that we can use as m1530 owners to help prolong our battery life, like only charging it to a certain point? also do any of the power management features contribute to reducing the battery life?

 

Avoid your battery getting hot. This is the major reason that a lot of batteries die early deaths.

 

so should I invest in a cooling pad, would that help keep the battery cool?

 

When you get the battery charge it for 24 hours. Then prime it by charging/discharging for at least 3 cycles. 20% discharging is I believe is the limit.. don't let it run down all the way. OEM batteries have built it chips that will stop overcharging. Having your laptop plugged in 24/7 is no problem and is advantageous if you have unexpected power outages. What I do is run it on battery power once in a while say 3 times a week and charge it overnite.