battery life and auto shut down(winxp)

i usually download lots of things from the net.. so for that purpose i tend to keep my laptop ( i.e. Dell e1505 ) ON on battery for 8-9 hours continuous unattended..

last night somehow i forgot to plug the power cord, so my notebook got hibernated after 2-3 hours (after the battery was depleted of charge).. which was great as my download was completed and the system was shutdown.

i was thinking will this process of keeping my notebook on for long hours do any damage to system and battery ?

is there any free tool which can auto shutdown my dell after 5-6hrs if its on battery..

any suggestions on how to maintain my battery.. i read somewhere that i should completely discharge my battery once a week or so.. but i have been doing that every alternate day !! not by choice thou

any tips experts !!

cheers !

 

No, it shouldn't damage your system at all. I wouldn't make a habit of discharging the battery completely. That's not usually needed for lithium batteries. They also don't develop a memory like NiMH batteries do. If you are only using it on wall power a lot/exclusively (ie, plugged in for more than a week or so at a time), then I would suggest that you remove the battery and store it in a cool place at a 40-70% charge while it's plugged in. Otherwise? Don't worry, that's how it's designed.

 

Your e1505 battery lasts 8-9 hours?

 

on AC with battery plugged in..

@ Pitabred: Thanks !

 

here's a good guide about laptop battery by chrisyano: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=91846

you can use xp power options properties to auto shutdown your xp.