Battery questions

Is there an external charger available for the zv6000 series so that while i am using one battery i will be able to charge the other? I bought the laptop with 2 12-cell batteries so that i would never be without power(if not near an outlet to plug it into).

Also, would it be safe to, while the laptop is plugged in switch batteries so that it will charge it?

Does the use of wifi and other built-in peripherals lessen battery power(in other words, should i disable devices which i am not using in device manager)

I was wondering, as i have seen mixed opinions, is it safe to leave my laptop on/off with the AC adapter plugged in?

Thanks

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

Wifi & the use of bluetooth will have quite an effect on battery conservation.

------------------------------
Http://www.zv6000forums.com

For all zv6k/r4k dialogue.

 

Also, will my battery be charged right out of the box, or will i have to charge it first? If i have to charge it first, how long should i charge it before i can use it? Can i just plug it in and use it off AC with the battery in and charge it when i first get it, or will i have to charge it with the power off?

Also, does anyone know of any external battery chargers for the ZV6000 series laptops?

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mtrivs

 

I believe you can hot swap batteries but I've never tried.
I leave my zv5000z plugged in all the time, battery in place, no problems. I only remove the battery when I want to do hardware maintenance.

 

does anyone know of an external charger for the zv6000 series?

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

I've never heard of an external charger. It would make too much sense. [ ]

I leave my laptop plugged in pretty much all the time and I haven't seen any problems so far.

HP recommends that you fully charge, then fully discharge the battery (to automatic shutdown) 3 times when you first get it. This "conditions" the battery and calibrates the charge display. I did it, but others here didn't do it, so I don't know how critical it is.

Russ

HP ZV5000z
Athlon 64 3000+
768mb RAM
60gb 4200rpm HD
nVidia G0 440 64mb
DVD-RW/CD-RW
1394, 5-in-1 card reader
15.4" wide screen
802.11 b/g w/Speedbooster

 

I have heard that you have to fully charge and then discharge the battery to calibrate it. I have also heard that people have recieved their laptops with their batteries already partially charged. I would like to know who has actually "calibrated" thier battery and who hasnt along with the experience they have had in doing so!

Thanks!

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

I haven't calibrated my 12 cell battery and it still shows 0% wear level despite being over 14 months old. I'm pretty skeptical of the whole battery calibration thing.

I suspect that living in Michigan, and undervolting my CPU, has lengthened my battery's life. Batteries like to stay cool.

 

I calibrated mine and the wear level is around 4%, which is fine by me. I didn't check it before calibrating, so I don't know if it actually did anything or not. I suspect it's just one of those recommended things that doesn't really do that much.

Russ

HP ZV5000z
Athlon 64 3000+
768mb RAM
60gb 4200rpm HD
nVidia G0 440 64mb
DVD-RW/CD-RW
1394, 5-in-1 card reader
15.4" wide screen
802.11 b/g w/Speedbooster

 

WOW that is awesome! How did you undervolt your CPU, and what program did you use to check the wear of your battery (mobile meter?)? Sounds like you got some awesome battery life.

Anyone else want to let me know their experiences with battery calibration?

Thanks!

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

Hmm...Mobmeter shows a wear level of 20% on my 8 cell battery. But I havent really noticed any decrease in battery life. Calibration did not change the wear level too much. It was around 26% before calibration.

So I am not convinced that calibration helps in any significant way.


To undervolt/clock the cpu. Try either Crystal CPUID or RM Clock....
http://crystalmark.info/?lang=en

http://cpu.rightmark.org/products/rmclock.shtml

I use personally use Clockgen but I dont think there is one out for the ATi chipset yet.


------------------------
Compaq Presario R3340US AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB, 80GB 5400rpm
15.4" Brightview WXGA.
------------------------

 

Thanks for all your great help! I appreciate it...
Anyone else care to talk about their experience?


~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mtrivs