Laptop Battery

[Funkworkz]

I bought my laptop back in November of '08, and im finding that my battery is already dying on me. It lasts nearly 1/2 the time it originally did, and its showing that its constantly charging now. I have an HP HDX 18t, so obviously its not designed to run on the battery but I expect to at least get a couple hours out of it and I find myself getting barely/just under an hour while only running firefox and ventrilo.

My question is, did I do anything wrong to need a replacement battery already? Also, how do I extend lifespan of a laptop battery to make it for at least a couple years instead of six months?

[Cephius]

Don't use hibernation or standby, and don't leave the charger plugged in 24/7 if you want to extend the life of the battery.

Some laptop batteries are just shit, though.

EDIT: Also for the future, the first time you use the laptop it's best to fully charge the battery, then let it completely drain. Then charge it up again and use normally. I have no actual evidence this extends the life of the battery, but supposedly it helps.

[Funkworkz]

Not leaving the charger plugged in, meaning when its off? I usually leave it on most of the time and just let it go into screen saver mode when im not using it. If its more efficient to turn it off i will probably do that when i sink $140 into a new battery

[Cephius]

Yeah, turn off the computer when it's not in use and unplug the charger after it's done charging to 100%

[Funkworkz]

the charger is basically the power supply, forgive me for not understanding but i should continuously take it to 100% then down to when it almost shuts off (5%) then plug it back in?

[Cephius]

You don't need to do it continuously, but when you first get the new battery it's best to full charge it then drain it to "break it in".

[Stee]

This is what I do to preserve my battery...

- Never charge the battery while the laptop is on
- Take out the battery whenever I'm using the charger
- At least once a week, drain the battery then recharge it
- Never store the battery in a hot location

My batteries last me years like that

[bungiefan]

Lithium Ion batteries lose charge capacity when kept at high charge and heated. If you leave your batter in with the laptop running and plugged in all the time, you are heating the battery and keeping it at full charge, which decreases the life of the battery. LiIon batteries store best at about 60% charge in a cool environment. I've killed several laptop batteries by using the machine as a download station, leaving it plugged in 24/7 with the lid closed and the battery popped in in case of a power outage running torrents for about 6 months straight. The battery gets heated and the chemical reactions degrade the battery, especially with the high amount of energy stored inside.