Battery Life

[javanoob101]

Hello everyone!

I have a Dell Latitude Cpi.

I know it is old but it run some cool old games i have.
unfortunatly, the battery only lasts 1 hour if im lucky.

I'm just wondering if there is anyway I can extend the battery life?
Windows Me reports that it is a LION battery and i was told that Lithum-ion batterys last a long time?
Why only 1 hour? is it because of its age?

javanoob101

[JorgeM]

Battery performance will decline over time. Some things you can do to extent the battery life is to configure Windows to shut down the monitor and hard drive after a period of inactivity. Having your screen on at the brightest setting will greatly reduce the batter life. In addition, if you hard drive is spinning 100% of the time, it will need the battery.

[javanoob101]

Good point about the hard drive, I have it to shut off automatically, but it doesn't. The sytem monitor application says the cpu is at 67-80 % used even if I leave the laptop to idle for over 10 mins.

I know this is not the right fourum for this but making another is kinda pointless to me. Any suggestions as to why the cpu is always in use?

javanoob101

[knnchau]

I believe windows have processes on during startup so you can try to stop some of them and it will lower your cpu usage, also another thing about battery is you shouldn't leave it plug in because it kills your battery life easily. I would like to know how to stretch the battery life out too.

[ChrisHunter]

I've got a Dell XPS M1530 and having a problem with the battery too. It was so bad that i had to have the charger in at all times but now it will only turn on if i leave the charger in but take the battery out so that it's running straight off the mains, the laptop wasn't even 2 years old when it started, either i had a dodgy battery or dell's batteries are rubbish !

Anyone know where i can get a new one (apart from dell they cost well over £100 which is extortionate and probably more than the laptop is worth now).

[javanoob101]

Thanks for the replies!
I'll check the startup box in msconfig more maybe i'm missing something.

As for ChrisHunter's post: Buying straight from Dell costs way too much and I don't know if a refurbished battery work do you much better (may not last as long too?)
Maybe try kijiji or e-bay for a new battery.

Good luck!
javanoob101

[javanoob101]

Oops! I have posted this thread in the networking forum!?!

I'm not a moderator and I don't know how to move this thread to the netbook forum
If a moderator or a user who knows how to move thread reads this please PM me so I can get this thread to the right forum.

Sorry, javanoob101

[javanoob101]

I still can't belive that I posted this in the Networking forum!

anyway, batteries only last for a certain lifespan and in this case my battery is at the end of it's life.
a tip to everyone is: Don't leave your laptop pugged in all the time!

javanoob101