How to Increase Laptop Battery Life

If you are like many people, you have had the unpleasant experience of working on a project on your laptop, only to cry out in frustration as your battery dies in the middle of something important. You may not know, but it is possible to increase the life of a laptop battery. Take these steps to make your battery last longer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Set your computer to stand by when it has been idle for a specific amount of time. To set the computer to stand by, go to the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel." Select "Power Options" and click on the "Power Schemes" tab. Select the amount of time you want your computer to wait before going on standby.
2. Disable your wireless card. Even if you aren't aware of it, your computer is constantly searching for new networks. This uses a great deal of battery life.
3. Close down unnecessary programs. You can do this by clicking on the programs in the task bar, by right clicking on the program, and selecting "Close" or by hitting "CTRL+ALT+DEL" and ending unnecessary tasks.
4. Control the programs that run at startup. You may not be aware that these programs are running in the background. Go to the "Start" menu, and click on "Run." Type in "msconfig" and click "OK." Click on the "Startup" tab and choose which program you want to run at startup and which programs to uncheck. For example, you want your virus protection to start up right away, but you may not need QuickTime.
5. Condition your battery by letting it run down, and then charge it up all the way. Partially charging your battery lowers battery life.

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