Laptop Power saving Tips

Laptop Power Saving Tips

1) Lower The Brightness. An effective way to reduce the rate of your battery’s power consumption is to lower the brightness of your laptop’s screen. This is usually done via a dedicated button or other Function key (Fn/F key) which doubles up as a brightness button when holding the arrow keys. Brightness buttons will be marked with a sun icon. To lower Brightness buttons will be marked with a sun icon. To lower your screen’s brightness, you’ll need to press the button with a down arrow repeatedly, which will usually be next to the sun icon button.

2) Switch Off Wi-fi. Another way to save power is to switch off the wi-fi when you’re not using it, as leaving your connection on can sap the life out of the battery. As with the brightness controls, most laptops have a dedicated button or an F key that can be used to disable or enable the wi-fi. Check for a button labelled “wi-fi” or one with an icon that looks like either a radio mast or like the signal bars on a mobile phone.

3) Move to a better power setting. You’re laptop should automatically switch to a more conservative power plan whenever your PC is running on battery power, but it’s worth checking this. In both Vista and Windows 7, click Start, type Power Options and then click the Power Options entry that appears. If the high performance option is selected, change this to Balanced. The power saver option will reduce battery usage further, but may affect overall performance. In Windows XP, similar options can be found by going to Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Power Options. Select Max Battery for the lowest power usage.

4) Adjust power options further. In Windows 7 and Vista, click Start type Power Options and then press Enter. Click the Change Plan Settings link next to your chosen power scheme, then choose shorter periods of time from the Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep dropdown menus. Click on Change advanced power settings to fine-tune power settings further still. You could, for example, click the plus sign next to the Hard disk entry, then click the plus sign next to Turn off hard disks and set a lower time to stop your PC’s hard drive from consuming power from when it’s not in use. Click OK > Save changes. In Windows XP Power Options, similar advanced settings should be listed in the Settings box underneath your chosen power scheme.

5) Lower the graphics quality. Windows 7 and Vista use attractive graphical touches, such as 3D effects, transparent window frames and so on, but all of these create system demands that can rapidly run down your battery. Switching to a more basic-looking desktop can help. Right-click on your desktop and select Personalise from the list. In Windows 7, scroll down and click on Windows basic or Windows classic. In Vista, click Windows Colour and Appearance, then select Windows basic or Windows Classic and click Ok.

6) Eject CD’s and DVD’s. It’s not advisable to use optical media – that’s to say CD’s DVD’s or Blu-ray discs - when you’re running your laptop via it’s battery, as the act of spinning a disc can seriously deplete power. It’s also a good idea to eject any discs that you have inserted into your laptop if you’re not actively using them. Windows will occasionally spin the drive if there is a disc in the media tray – whenever My Computer, for example – so it’s best to keep the try empty when you’re drawing on battery power.

7) Shutting down desktop Gadgets. Window 7 and Vista lets you run useful mini-programs called Gadgets, such as weather tickers, directly from the desktop. Shutting them down can help your laptop battery last longer. In Windows Vista click anywhere in the Sidebar (usually on the right of the screen) and select Close Sidebar. In Windows 7, close individual Gadgets by moving your mouse over a Gadget and click on the X that appears top right of the Gadget. To reinstate your Gadgets in Vista, right-click the sidebar icon in the notification area and select open. In Windows 7, right-click the desktop and select gadgets, then drag and drop them to your desktop.

8) Remove USB devices. Most USB devices drain power from your PC in order to operate, so unplugging memory keys, external drives, TV tuners, mobile broadband dongles and so on when you’re not using them will help conserve the battery charge. Remember to use the USB eject tool on the Windows Notification Area (bottom right of your computer’s screen) before physically unplugging a storage device. If your laptop uses PC card (PCMCIA) peripherals, you should also unplug these when not in use, as they drain power in the same way.

9) Turn off unnecessary programs. Each time your computer boots up, a number of programs will automatically launch and run in the back ground. Some of these such as you anti-virus software, are important and need to be kept running, but other, non-essential applications, such as media servers, can be closed down in order to conserve battery power. Right-click on the programs icon in the Notification Area (bottom right of your taskbar) – click the arrow buttons to see more icons – and select the option to Quit, Exit or Close the program.

10) Add extra memory. Adding more memory will help conserve your laptop’s battery power, though not all laptops allow memory upgrades so check before you buy.