-
Step 1
Keep your computer and battery as cool as possible. Just as heat is bad for a computer's CPU, it is also detrimental to batteries. The hotter a battery is, the faster its charge will drop over time. Keep the laptop out of direct sunlight, and never leave the battery in a hot place.
-
Step 2
Draw less power when using your computer. The more applications you run on your computer, and the higher your power settings, the more the battery will drain during use. Running fewer programs at one time, and changing power settings, such as reducing the brightness of the display, will extend battery life. Running graphically intense programs like games is especially hard on batteries, since graphics cards draw large amounts of power, and generate a lot of heat.
-
Step 3
Avoid USB external devices. USB devices draw power from the computer. The more USB devices you are using, like mice, external hard drives and MP3 players, the quicker your battery will drain.
-
Step 4
Allow the battery to fully discharge on occasion. While it is generally best to keep the battery charged, and not allow it to run out completely, it can extend the life of the battery to allow it to fully discharge once in a while, such as every few weeks.
-
Step 5
Don't use the battery if you don't have to. While some battery use is helpful to keep the battery used to being used, don't use the battery all the time if you can plug the computer into a power source. Batteries can only be drained and charged a certain number of times before they start to lose charge, so using the battery too often can shorten the life of the battery.
