HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR LAPTOP BATTERY NAA BOGBIRE ALBERT

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction What is a laptop? Laptop battery Who uses a laptop? Recommendations Conclusion

INTRODUCTION A laptop battery, just like the battery of any electronic device is an electro-mechanical device that store electrical charge to keep a laptop alive even when it is disconnected from the main power supply. A laptop battery come in grades which determines the benefits of the capacity of the battery and how long it can keep the laptop running. People often ask questions like; Is it advisable to leave my charger plugged in my laptop when the battery is fully charged? My battery reads 100%. But when I disconnect it from the main power supply, it does not stay up to 30 minutes. What should I do? Doing justice to all these questions and more is my business today so get a cup of water and read along.

WHAT IS A LAPTOP? A laptop is a personal computer which has all the four main parts of a personal computer integrated so as to make it more portable. A laptop has the monitor, keyboard and mouse built on top of the system unit. The main component that makes a laptop portable and mobile is its battery. The recharging capability of a laptops battery makes it possible for laptop users to enjoy mobility. This means they can work anywhere and at any time. THE LAPTOP BATTERY

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Regardless of the manufacturer, laptop batteries are graded ABCD. Each grade has its price value and is intended to suit a particular design or platform (mobile phone, smart phone, tablets, laptops etc). They are also grouped according to how the cells are arranged; 4 Cells 6 Cells 9 Cells The higher the number of cells the higher the capacity (i.e. how much charge it can store and for how long). Laptop batteries are also categorized into; i. Nikel cadium ii. Nikel metal hybrid iii. Lithium ion Comparison of the various battery types Nikel Cadium - Heavy - Longer charge time - Fast discharge - Performs poorly under low temperatures - Lower discharge cycles Nikel Metal Hybrid - little lighter but still heavy - longer charge time - Fast discharge Lithium-ion - Lighter - Discharge slowly - Recharges faster - Performs well under solid temperature - Higher discharge cycles Laptop batteries are also classified as SMART and DUMB. Smart batteries have electronic devices in them that help them to check voltage levels, battery calibrations and discharge cycles while the dumb ones has no such feature. By far, the lithium ion batteries are the best.

WHO USES A LAPTOP This section is what my readers have been waiting for. There is a laptop battery for everyone. But the unfortunate thing is when we decide to buy a laptop, the only one we listen to is the guy selling us the laptop and how cheap we can get it. Because of the varying data processing needs of individuals, it is not advisable to buy a laptop computer based on the brand the guy next door is using. Different people buy computers for different purposes.

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1. Normal letter typing and learning. 2. Gaming 3. Multimedia (video and music). Etc. Before I continue to say anything further, I would like to caution our listeners that the laptop battery just like any electronic device can be shipped with manufacture defect and no matter how strict you adhere to the precautions am about to give, your battery might still not last. 1. Battery under normal typing and learning usage If you use your computer for just normal typing of letters reading of e-books, listening to music occasionally, you can be my guest to leave your laptop charger plugged in without affecting your battery. Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop. Unless you are using an older laptop which is powered by nikel cadium or nikel metal hybrid battery which is known to have memory effects and heating problems, you are at liberty not to worry about your charger plugged into your laptop when it is full. 2. Gaming and Multimedia Those who use their laptops for graphic reach activities such as gaming do experience over-heating and this is not healthy for the battery of your laptop. My advice here is that you remove the battery from the computer while playing the game. By game I dont mean solitaire, chicken invaders and those small games. By games I mean fifa, war zone, grand theft, crazy taxi driver, and the like. These games put great pressure on the CPU, RAM and Graphic Card forcing them to work hard and in the process generate more heat. In short, heat is the number one enemy of the modern lithium-ion battery and for that matter you must remove your laptop battery from the laptop when engaging in any computation that will generate more heat.

RECOMMENDATIONS Full battery discharges (until laptop power shutdown, 0%) should be avoided, because this stresses the battery a lot and can even damage it. It's recommended to perform partial discharges to capacity levels of 20~30% and frequent charges, instead of performing a full discharging followed by a full charging. Laptop batteries contain a capacity gauge that allows us to know the exact amount of energy stored. However, due to the charging/discharging cycles, this sensor tends to be inaccurate overtime. Some laptops include in their BIOS, tools to recalibrate this battery gauge, which is nothing more than a full discharge followed by a full charge. So to calibrate the gauge, it should be performed, in every 30 discharge cycles, a full discharge non-stop, followed by a non-stop, full charge. (Laptop battery care software can help you determine when to calibrate your battery. Plus it can help keep your battery for longer hours)

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An inaccurate gauge can lead to the fact that the battery capacity values are wrong. The battery may report that it still has 10% of capacity when in fact it has a much lower value, and this causes the computer to shutdown unexpectedly. Battery monitoring softwares are available on line that can monitor discharge cycles and notify you when you need to perform calibrations. Laptop battery care is one of the best battery monitoring softwares. You can google for it. It is free.

CONCLUSION What makes a laptop mobile is its battery but what use will a laptop be if its battery gives up anytime you disconnect it from external power source? It is for this reason that I prepared this article to help you understand and give your laptop battery the best care possible so youre your marriage will be a joyous one. Adhere to the precautions provided and make use of the advices given because the last thing you want right now is to receive that annoying critical battery warning. You however should also note that your battery can give up for so many reasons not covered in this article

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