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Compaq Presario Laptop Batteries

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Lithium Ion notebook batteries wear down because of two factors: 1) active usage in your notebook battery and 2) natural aging of the notebook battery. Both will wear down your notebook battery over time; the trick is to minimize their impact while still getting the performance out of your laptop battery that you need.

The most important thing to understand about laptop batteries is that they are always losing a small bit of their charge. The hotter the temperature, the faster notebook batteries loose their charge. So rule number one is: keep your notebook battery cool. Notebook battery manufacturers store their products at around 60F. (It doesn't help to put them in the refrigerator, and you can damage a battery by freezing it.)

The second most important thing to understand about notebook batteries is that their capacity decreases with each cycle of charging and discharging (or usage). By itself, this is not surprising - but when combined with the previous point, it leads to a surprising conclusion.

When laptop users leave their laptop battery inside the machine but leave the computer plugged into the wall, the laptop battery is going through a constant charge-discharge cycle. The notebook battery is sitting unused inside the notebook, discharging a little faster than normal because of the notebook's heat. Once its charge level drops to a predetermined level (which is different for each manufacturer), the AC adapter provides extra juice to "top off" the notebook battery. As the laptop battery gets older, it tends to self-discharge a little faster, which accelerates the process even further.

Lithium ion notebook batteries normally offer 600 to 800 charge/discharge cycles over 1.5 to 3 years of useful life. When you use your notebook battery as described above, you are needlessly using your supply of recharges.

One additional note: many people recall that older notebook batteries on early computers worked best when they were fully discharged before being recharged. While that remains true for Nickel Cadmium technology, today's Lithium Ion notebook batteries work best when they are recharged when they still have 10 to 20% capacity remaining. So if you are using your notebook battery on a long flight, try not to get in the habit of using the notebook battery until it has almost no charge. Your laptop battery literally won't be the same when you re-charge it the next time.

Some Guidelines for notebook batteries:

1 Remember that new laptop batteries generally arrive in a discharged state; you must charge them up for at least four hours before their first use.

2 Keep your laptop battery cool, but do not put it in the refrigerator or freezer

3 Don't use the notebook battery if you don't have to! Many people keep their laptop plugged in most of the time. They can preserve their notebook battery life by storing the battery outside the laptop in a cool place.

5 Try to avoid running your laptop battery all the way to zero

6 Don't charge your notebook battery before long periods of inactivity

7 Much as we'd like to sell you more laptop batteries, don't buy spare notebook batteries for later use. The longer you hold them, the less useful life they provide

Compaq Presario Laptop Batteries

The most common chemistries used in laptop batteries are:

NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) - This is the oldest technology and is the least commonly used nowadays. NiCad batteries are prone to the "Memory effect" and are heavier than the newer technologies. NiCad is not environmentally friendly chemistry as it contains heavy metals, which cannot be disposed of in landfill sites. Most manufacturers have stopped producing batteries of this type chemistry. As an end user it will be increasingly difficult to source these batteries. The best alternative is external battery packs. This is an external battery, with run times of up-to 10hours and is compatible with most manufacturers.

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) - These batteries are less likely to be prone to the memory effect and have a much better power to weight ratio than NiCad. This is a commonly used chemistry. These batteries are also being phased out by most manufacturers. However, many have lithium-ion versions that are compatible. Always consult the manufacturer or a reputable laptop battery supplier.

Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) - This is becoming the dominant technology due to its excellent power to weight ratio. Such considerations are becoming more important as mobile devices become smaller and lighter and battery weight becomes significant. Another plus point for Li-Ion is that it doesn't suffer the memory effect at all. These batteries do have a tendency to lose charge quickly towards the end of their effective life span. If this starts to happen the battery must be replaced.

These three technologies are quite different in the way they charge and therefore should not be substituted unless the device has been designed to take different chemistries. The owner's manual will describe which batteries are suitable.Lithium Ion laptop batteries are available at ComputerBatteries.co.uk

Laptop Battery Capacity

Laptop batteries are rated by, Voltage (V) and Milliamp-hours (mAh). Voltage is the rate at which energy is drawn from the battery and Milliamp-hours represents the capacity of the battery. The Milliamp-hour rating corresponds to the run time of the battery. A battery with a high Milliamp-hour rating, has a relatively longer run time than a battery with a low Milliamp-hour rating.

Batteries with different Milliamp-hours can be used on the same laptop provided the voltage rating is the same. The voltage rating has to match that of the original battery or as recommended by the computer manual. Using a battery with a different voltage setting can seriously damage the laptop. The power ratings of most compatible/replacement batteries are higher than the original manufacturers' batteries. This will not damage your laptop, in fact, it simply means that these batteries in many cases last longer than original manufacturers' batteries. Ask the experts like PowerUp on compatible replacement laptop batteries.

The run time of a laptop battery will vary on individual notebook computers, based on the applications being used (i.e. high graphics, games), the number of times something is saved or retrieved from the hard drive and/or CD Rom drive, the memory of notebook, and chemistry and capacity of the battery. A ‘realistic' average run-time for a battery is 1.5 to 3 hours. Using devices like a wireless adapter on the laptop also drains the battery considerably.

The life of a battery under normal use is around 500 to 900 charge-discharge cycles. This is about one and a half to three years of battery life for the average user. As the rechargeable battery begins to fail, the running time of the battery begins to decline. See the Laptop Battery & AC Adapter Information page for advice from PowerUP.

Laptop Battery Care

Most laptop batteries when purchased are sent out in a discharged state. The laptop batteries require to be "run them in" to achieve maximum performance and the best service life. Simply insert the battery into your laptop and allow it to charge fully and then, fully discharge your battery (i.e. run your laptop using battery power until it switches off) then fully charge your battery once again.

It is possible that when you first put the new battery into your laptop it will show it is fully charged almost straight away, but it doesn't power the laptop for very long. This does not mean the battery is faulty, simply take out and reinsert the battery, fully charge it once again and this should solve the problem.

It may take some time for certain laptops to recognize new batteries and you may have to run a calibration program that you can access through the control panel on your laptop. If in any doubt please consult your user's manual for your laptop.

Make sure that you fully discharge your battery from time to time, as this will prolong the useful service life of the battery. If you are not going to use the battery for some time (perhaps a month or more), remove it from your laptop in a fully charged state and store it in a cool dry place away from sources of heat and light.

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Both Victor Epand & Roberto Bell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Victor Epand has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Trucks and Interest. Victor Epand is an expert consultant for , a computer memory Super Store. BuyRAM.info carries a. Victor Epand's top article generates over 11100000 views. to your Favourites.

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