Laptop battery life on the road can be a real hassle. Claims of five to six hours are as believable as Whitney Houston's sobriety. When were camping electricity is always at a premium for us and it's always frustrating to lose power in the middle of working on the computer in the tent. We've tried every possible way to possible to increase our laptop's battery life and we've discovered there are several simple tricks to get the most from your laptop battery.
1. Drop the brightness to the lowest possible setting that you can endure: This can be really tough for me since editing photos at a low brightness setting is not ideal. Instead of editing, I will try to sort through pictures and then put them in a folder for editing later when I can plug in.
2. Unplug any USB device, like iPods or SD card readers, that you are not using: Nothing drains the laptop battery like having an iPod plugged in. Sometimes you are so used to plugging in card readers or other devices that it becomes second nature. When conserving battery power make sure your computer doesn't have to work hard at anything else.
3. If not needed, turn off WiFi and/or Bluetooth: I always forget this one! The WiFi is always on and even though I'm not using the Internet at the time, it is still draining the power off the computer. Always remember to shut off the WiFi & Bluetooth so your computer isn't working extra hard trying to find possible Internet connections.
4. Eject DVDs fro the disc drive: Have you ever fallen asleep watching a DVD movie only to find the disc days later in the drive spinning. Well, that spinning equals battery drain, so always make sure if you are trying to conserve your battery power, you eject any discs.
5. Put your laptop to sleep: For short downtimes between use, its best for your battery life if you put your laptop to sleep. For longer periods in between use, place your laptop in hibernate mode.
1. Drop the brightness to the lowest possible setting that you can endure: This can be really tough for me since editing photos at a low brightness setting is not ideal. Instead of editing, I will try to sort through pictures and then put them in a folder for editing later when I can plug in.
2. Unplug any USB device, like iPods or SD card readers, that you are not using: Nothing drains the laptop battery like having an iPod plugged in. Sometimes you are so used to plugging in card readers or other devices that it becomes second nature. When conserving battery power make sure your computer doesn't have to work hard at anything else.
3. If not needed, turn off WiFi and/or Bluetooth: I always forget this one! The WiFi is always on and even though I'm not using the Internet at the time, it is still draining the power off the computer. Always remember to shut off the WiFi & Bluetooth so your computer isn't working extra hard trying to find possible Internet connections.
4. Eject DVDs fro the disc drive: Have you ever fallen asleep watching a DVD movie only to find the disc days later in the drive spinning. Well, that spinning equals battery drain, so always make sure if you are trying to conserve your battery power, you eject any discs.
5. Put your laptop to sleep: For short downtimes between use, its best for your battery life if you put your laptop to sleep. For longer periods in between use, place your laptop in hibernate mode.
About the Author:
For more working on the road advice and WWOOF tips. Stop by Randy Kalp's site, BeersandBeans.com, where you can find out all about Iceland camping on a budget.
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