BleepingComputer.com: Quick Laptop Question

Hi, great forum here, it's probably the best free IT help thing on the web! It really does cover all the bases.

Anyway, I would be grateful if anyone could offer me any advice:

I'm basically using my laptop as a desktop (I bought it instead of a desktop because of space issues) and someone told me I should really take the battery out of the laptop because if it's constantly connected to the mains and always being charged, it can ruin its capacity so when I finally don't have a mains power supply I'm in trouble.

So basically, what I'm asking is:

My laptop is always plugged in to the mains. Should I remove the battery?

Many thanks,

Ben.

So, how quick is your laptop?

(ba-dum-bump)



Anyway, here's what the Mobile Office "About" folks say.

That's a good point they make about making sure you are plugged into a UPS. Good advice for all of us, whether using a notebook PC or a desktop PC.

Additionally, remember, one of the biggest "enemies" of batteries is heat, and notebook PCs do get hot.

This post has been edited by JohnWho: 01 April 2007 - 09:28 AM

That's odd - I've never heard of a UPS and my desktop upstairs has always been plugged into the mains. Is it vital? No one else I know has one!

Well, prehaps this will help -

How Stuff Works - "How does a computer's uninterruptible power supply (UPS) work?"


In general, a sudden surge of power or a sudden loss of power could cause damage to a PC's electronics or the hard drive.

JohnWho, on Apr 1 2007, 09:41 PM, said:

But surely when you hold down an off button for a PC when it's crashed and it turns off after a few seconds that's not doing it any harm?

Also where can I get a UPS from? Ebuyer? Maplins? Places like that? Any recommended ones?

Also, this whole malarkey of cycling the battery charge every 4 weeks or so sounds very time consuming and unnecessary!

Also, (sorry!) Does the website mean that after discharging it you should fully charge, then discharge to 40% and repeat process?


Thanks for all the help by the way.

This post has been edited by Cackhandedchimp: 01 April 2007 - 05:47 PM

OK well I've taken the battery out now but the laptop is like a chair with one leg shorter than the other, it wobbles around wherever I apply pressure to it - very annoying! I might put the battery back in now...

Cackhandedchimp, on Apr 2 2007, 12:34 PM, said:

When you see the price of a replacement battery, you might try to fix/adapt your wobble problem and make the battery last as long as you can
Mark

Just wanted to thank you JohnWho for the recommended site usasma & I were talking about the same question(to battery or not to battery-That is the question) due to an inquiry made in this forum titled "Work without a battery-AC only. I do believe we have double topiced !!!! Well, hopefully the powers that be will get us all on the same page. Let's get together, YEH,YEH,YEH !! Sorry, one of those silly days I get ,too often sometimes Thanks again!!!

Iodine

This post has been edited by Iodine: 04 April 2007 - 05:09 PM