Table of Contents
Advertisement
Batteries and Power Management
Using Battery Power
To get the longest operating time, wait until the battery's charge is below 50% before
recharging, then charge it fully (100%). Charging can take up to approximately 2 hours.
You can continue working while the battery charges.
A fully charged battery can operate the computer for up to approximately 4 hours,
depending on your computer's model, power management settings, and level of use.
To use additional batteries
You can install a secondary battery in either or both of the expansion base's plug-in
module bays. See "Using Plug-In Modules" on page 82 for information about installing
plug-in modules.
For instructions on replacing the main battery, see "Step 1: Install the battery" on
page 21.
To get the most from your batteries
Follow these suggestions to make your battery's power last as long as possible.
• Plug in the AC adapter, especially when using a drive in the expansion base's module
bays, or any external connections such as a PC Card or a modem.
• Set the display brightness to the lowest comfortable level (Fn+F1).
• Put the computer in Standby mode whenever you are not using it for a short while:
press the blue sleep button for approximately one second, or click Start, Shut Down
(or Turn Off Computer), Standby.
• Put the computer in Hibernate mode whenever you want to save your current session,
but will not be using the computer for a day or more: press Fn+F12.
• Set the automatic timeout settings to emphasize saving power. If your computer has a
multispeed processor and uses Windows 98 or 2000, use the lower speed on battery
power (the default settings conserve battery power)—see "How the computer
manages power automatically" on page 50.
• If your computer has a wireless on-off button, turn off the wireless function when
you're not using it. Press the wireless on-off button so the light turns off.
• If you have an I/O PC Card—that is, a PC Card having an external connection, such
as a network card—remove it when you're not using it. Some I/O cards use
significant power even while they're inactive.
56
Reference Guide
Advertisement
Table of Contents
Troubleshooting
