Robert Heron: To preserve and extend battery life in your laptop, there are several steps you can take. First, to verify how much time is left on the battery, check out the tiny battery icon in the system tray. If it isn't in the system and tray and you are using Windows Vista, right click on the control panel's task bar and choose properties. Click the notification area tab. Check the power item and click OK.
To get a battery icon to show up in Windows XP, open the control panel by going to the start menu and clicking control panel; then select the power options icon. Click the advance tab, put a check mark by the always show icon on the task bar option and click OK. The battery icon is now in your system tray. If you need to charge the battery, plug the laptop into an electrical outlet using your AC power cable, if you normally leave the laptop plugged into the wall socket al the time, remove the battery to extend its life. Store the battery when it's not in use by placing it in a non-metallic or non-conducting container in a cool dry place.
In Windows Vista, to select a power management plant to prolong your batteries life, right click on the battery icon and choose power options. Choose a plant, either balanced power saver or high performance; noting that power saver gives you the longest battery life. Now you know the best ways to preserve and extend the battery life in your laptop.
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