Tips to improve your laptop's battery life

Tue Jul 29, 2008 6:15PM EDT

Having a laptop during my college career made my life much, much easier. Being able to write down notes at the speed of light while looking up references and additional documents in class helped make me an efficient, hard-working student. Of course, keeping your laptop charged throughout the day is extremely important, so here are some easy tips to extend your laptop's battery life through a long school day.

Turn down the screen brightness: This one may seem like a total no-brainer, but it definitely does make a difference. If you simply lower your screen brightness to the lowest or second-lowest setting, it can significantly extend your battery life. Usually, all it takes is pressing a couple of buttons (refer to your manual for specific instructions), and boom, you should notice a longer lifespan instantly. However, if it strains your eyes, return to your normal brightness settings.

Avoid playing music or using your disc drive: Want to watch a movie or listen to music in between classes? Although it may seem like your notebook isn't doing a lot of work, playing an MP3 or DVD makes your CPU (and disc drive, if you're watching a DVD) work hard, thus eating precious battery life. In general, try to keep your disc drive use to a minimum throughout the day, because spinning and reading a disc is a pretty big power-suck. Besides, isn't that why you got that brand-new iPod?

Set up your Power Options: This one is for Windows users. In the Control Panel located in the Start Menu, there is an application specifically designed to help you manage your power consumption. Be sure to configure these settings—they really do help. On the Power Schemes tab, I have my laptop set to turn the screen and hard drive turn off after two minutes of inactivity when running on battery power. On the Advanced tab, I have it set to go to Standby when I close my lid (good for saving juice while running to different classes). Use the settings that best fit your lifestyle.

Turn off your Wi-Fi: Okay, this one isn't any fun at all, but in the name of saving power, it must be considered. If you're in class only taking notes, turn off your Wi-Fi to save a healthy chunk of battery. However, this means no chatting, no checking email, no checking OMG!, no games, no nothing. It's probably better for you, anyway.

And if all else fails...

Get a second battery: If you've got a monster schedule, a second battery could be a worthy investment. Besides, no one wants to fight over power outlets anyways.