![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/laptop.jpg\" "\\"laptop\\"")
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I bet portability was a deciding factor when you decided to get yourself a notebook instead of a huge desktop. You must’ve hoped of working on it while lying on the bed or while relaxing on the sofa. But you must’ve been hit by reality within a few weeks of owning the notebook —\u00a0and the first thing you do when you switch on your notebook is to spot a power supply nearby.<\/p>\n
Macs are better off, but Windows notebooks are notorious for their feeble battery life. That’s why I decided to do a little research and present you with my Top 10 Tips to enhance battery life and let you have a better computing experience.<\/p>\n
All electronics operate with greater efficiency when they are cooler. Fact: Increasing temps increase Resistance and thus electronics use up more power to execute operations. Therefore, the first thing you got to do is to let your laptop ventilate\u00a0efficiently. The best way to do this is to get a\u00a0laptop stand.<\/a>\u00a0Clean the air vents of your laptop \u2013 probably there is a lot of grime stuck within. You could use a cloth, brush or compressed air to make your work easier. Or better yet you could choose a\u00a0laptop cleaning kit<\/a>\u00a0that would help you do the job perfectly.<\/p>\n The latest version of BIOS is always better so you\u00a0just have to update your system\u2019s BIOS (it controls the laptop\u2019s hardware). Most manufacturers offer an installation file that updates BIOS. These often address heat management. Just make sure that your notebook is connected to the power supply when updating the BIOS and refrain form doing anything else while updating. You don\u2019t want to brick your laptop now, do you.<\/p>\n Defragmentation tidies up your files so that they’re\u00a0contiguous.\u00a0Contiguous\u00a0files allow faster reading and put lower strain on your system. It also gets things done faster and smoother. But, if you have a SSD you might not want to do this as it has a detrimental effect on it’s lifespan. Mac users don\u2019t\u00a0necessarily\u00a0have to do this either as the OS takes care of it.<\/p>\n Unless you need those devices right now, your notebook would be better off if you removed them. Plugging in everything you own to the computer is a surefire way to drain out the laptop battery. If you\u2019re running on AC Supply I recommend those cooler fans, or you could use a\u00a0ThermaPak to cool your laptop<\/a>. Charge your iPod using it\u2019s charger rather than connecting it to the laptop \u2013 it\u2019s faster and won\u2019t hurt your laptop. You could also use a car charger from the\u00a0laptop chargers<\/a>\u00a0section to charge your laptop on the go and keep it juiced up.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using your notebook while indoors you probably won\u2019t need your display at full brightness \u2013 so why don\u2019t you lower that to a more optimal level? If you have more field work, then you should consider an anti-glare coating for your screen from GearZap’s\u00a0laptop screen protectors<\/a>\u00a0section. Glossy screens reflect a lot of glare and you’ll have to turn up the brightness of your display to negate it. But if you\u00a0have\u00a0a matte screen then you wouldn’t have to turn it up that much.<\/p>\n If you have a laptop that features user-replaceable batteries then you ought to clean your battery\u2019s contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol or some\u00a0laptop cleaning\u00a0accessory<\/a>. This will allow more efficient transfer of power from the battery.<\/p>\n Stand-by modes might be good for short periods of time but if it\u2019s more than an hour hibernation is your best choice \u2013 it will save your PCs state and completely shut down as well. MacBook Pro users, you could just close it’s lid.<\/p>\n Optimise your power options at the control panel so that you can customise it depending on your usage patterns. Here are some tips to make your\u00a0Mac faster and efficient<\/a>. Windows users have to make sure that they have set optimal time periods before their computer goes into stand-by or hibernation.<\/p>\n Each successive Operating System software update usually has better efficiency and performance. Moreover, when you upgrade your OS \u2013 like from\u00a0Mac SL to Lion<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u00a0try to go for a full on fresh install rather than installing over the current OS.<\/p>\n Most modern laptops have an option that allows you to select the graphics solution that you require. Unless you need the discrete card, try to use the integrated option as much as you can. There\u2019s a world of difference between the two in terms of power savings. NVIDIA users usually have the Optimus Technology on their systems while Mac users have built-in support.<\/p>\n I hope these tips help you out to improve your battery life. If you’ve got any tips that you wish to share please feel free to let us know by using the comment form below.<\/p>\n2. Update the BIOS<\/h3>\n
3. Defrag your hard disk<\/h3>\n
4. Remove external devices<\/h3>\n
5. Dim the screen<\/h3>\n
6. Keep the battery contacts clean<\/h3>\n
7. Use hibernate instead of standby<\/h3>\n
8. Optimise your power options<\/h3>\n
9. Update your OS<\/h3>\n
10. Lower the graphics use<\/h3>\n