Gallery: Boost your notebook PC's battery life

The brightness of most notebook displays can be increased or decreased – look for special keys on the keyboard – often you’ll need to push a function button, too. Reducing the brightness by as much as you can will squeeze more from the battery between charges. Also, when not using the internet, disable the wireless network adapter to further cut power consumption: look for a switch or key if it’s built into the notebook; if it’s a USB dongle or plug-in card (PC Card), then remove this prior to switching on the computer.

Similarly, other connected USB devices and plug-in cards may draw power from the notebook’s battery, so you should also unplug these if possible. Another activity that requires a lot of power is using the disc drive to watch DVDs or listen to CDs, so eject these before travelling. If you do want to listen to music, open Windows Media Player and rip the CD to the hard disk before unplugging the notebook – not only is this more energy efficient, it’s more convenient, too.

The amount of available memory can have an effect on battery life. If your notebook only has a limited amount of memory installed (256-512MB in Windows XP, or 512MB-1GB in Vista), it will need to make more use of the hard disk, which draws more power from the battery. See the Workshop in issue 254, or view online at www.computeractive.co.uk/2201722, for instructions on installing more memory. Another way to reduce hard disk access is to keep the disk defragmented – Vista does this automatically, but XP users should open My Computer, right-click the hard disk and select Properties. Switch to the Tools tab and click Defragment Now. It’s best to run this process only when the notebook is plugged in.

When running on battery power, a battery meter appears in the Notification Area of the Taskbar. Windows Vista users should right-click this and make sure Power Saver is selected. It’s possible to fine-tune these settings to save power more aggressively – click Start and select Control Panel. Click System Maintenance, followed by Power Options. Click ‘Change plan settings’ under Power Saver, then choose ‘Change advanced power settings’. Go through each option in the list, reducing switch-off times to 10 or even five minutes, and making sure Maximum power-saving is selected where appropriate. Click OK to finish.

Windows XP users need to do a little more work. Open Power Options in Control Panel and switch to the Power Schemes tab to adjust how quickly the computer goes into standby and powers off the monitor or hard disk – five minutes is a comfortable minimum. To change device settings such as your wireless adapter, click Start, select Run, type devmgmt.msc into the dialogue box and press Enter to open Device Manager. Double-click each device in turn and look for a Power Management or Advanced tab, where you can tweak power-saving settings to eke out more from the battery.

Like all rechargeable cells, a notebook’s battery has a finite number of recharges before its performance degrades, or even stops holding a charge. An early sign of a battery nearing the end of its life is the requirement for more frequent recharging. Although the notebook manufacturer will happily sell you replacement (or spare) batteries, it’s worth shopping around to find the best price. Most modern batteries degrade from the day they are made, so buying secondhand isn’t generally recommended.

Like all rechargeable cells, a notebook’s battery has a finite number of recharges before its performance degrades, or even stops holding a charge. An early sign of a battery nearing the end of its life is the requirement for more frequent recharging. Although the notebook manufacturer will happily sell you replacement (or spare) batteries, it’s worth shopping around to find the best price. Most modern batteries degrade from the day they are made, so buying secondhand isn’t generally recommended.