Windows 7: Win 7 laptop battery question

i have a laptop running Win 7 Home Premium and wonder if one should leave battery in the laptop once it is fully charged. What is generally the recommendation?



Any input would be appreciated.

Frank

The battery is made to be left in the PC all the time. It will increase your battery life if you let the battery run almost empty every month or so then recharge.

I have my power settings set so as my battery on charges to 90 percent I think that helps the battery life .

Often it's a good practice to remove the battery if you're not using it, and it's not charged.
The heat from the computer doesn't do any good to batteries and reduces their lifetime, so it's better to keep them of a heat source (CPU/GPU) for as long as possible.
Not that it damages it right away, but over time it might show reduced duration for a full charge, to the point to becoming useless in extreme cases.

as long as you let it fully discharge liek teh above said, you can extend the battery life, you can take the battery out but keep it away from direct sunlight and away from heat sources - i probably read exactly what says in the back of your battery

Many thanks to all responders. There seems to be varying perceptions on what is best battery practice. On another forum a college computer instructor has this to say:


Newer laptops use lithium ion battery packs and unlike the older NiMH and NiCd batteries are not susceptible to the "memory effect".and need not be fully discharged before recharging.

The modern lithium battery can be charged regardless of its current percentage, given that it has absolutely no negative effect in its performance.


Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop.
However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is plugged in, but only if it's currently suffering from excessive heating caused by the laptop hardware.


I guess the bottom line is - either in or out when the battery is fully charged makes little difference if the laptop is properly cooled when used for long periods.


Frank

I would agree with the above. The prime cause of battery failure s due to excessive heating. So never use a laptop on your lap. Stupid remark but true. You need to keep a good airflow underneath the machine and a wire cake stand is good for this. When using the laptop for an extended period it is good practice to remove the battery. This then gives a bit more room for air circulation. Don't forget to periodically, say once a month, to blow out as much dust as possible from the vents with a purpose can of compressed air!

I agree that this does sound logical, but I must add one thing that disputes it. I just got a new laptop. It has two settings for the battery. One is to charge it 100% and the other keeps the maximum charge at 50% for longer battery life. The whole thing is pretty confusing.

I once knew that, it was recommended that for storage of batteries, i.e. leave them unplugged without any usage, it's a good thing to leave at 40% or so, to preserve life, maybe that setting is for that, and the 100% is for regular usage of charge/discharge.
I have no idea if that thing of 40% still holds true for newer batteries though, but maybe has something to do with that.

You didn't mention what model your laptop is, but IF it has discrete graphics AND you do any gaming on it, the laptop could draw power from the battery as well as the ac adapter to meet the power requirements as the ac adapter alone may not be powerful enough to run the system flat out.