What are the Proper settings for longer battery life in Toshiba NB500?

booky · 19 Nov 2011

My brother just bought a Toshiba NB500, its a Notebook running in Windows 7 Starter. And he saw a website that says that the battery capacity can be more or less 8hrs. Then he wants to customize his settings to make it. He already put to the lowest possible level the brightness settings. but it only takes 3hrs.

what would be the best possible solution to this? are there still settings that have to be changed?

Any suggestions are welcome!

DustSailor · 19 Nov 2011

Is the computer on power saving mode in the windows control panel? The dimmer the display and the lower the max cpu usage is, the more life you get. However, there is a balance. Too low and you can't see the desktop (too dark) and everything runs really slow (set cpu max usage too low). Also, the less programs you have running in the background, the more power you will save. You could delete everything from the startup folder (it will not remove the programs themselves). This will keep programs from running right as you start the computer.

I have not seen this video myself, but it might be helpful: Power management - Windows 7 features - Microsoft Windows ps. it requires silverlight to run. There should be youtube videos on this subject and other places already on the internet that may go more in depth on how to save more power, you should look them up.

You can set the computer to fall asleep after 10 minutes or less to save more power during in-activity. all sorts of things, take a look in the advaced power options in your computer.

DustSailor · 19 Nov 2011

You can even set the power mode to change to high performance instead of power saving (and be a lot more speedy and brighter) if your computer is plugged in to a socket, so it only uses less power when it is running on battery. I linked you to things you might like to use:

Power Efficiency Diagnostics Report

Power Plan Settings - Change

booky · 19 Nov 2011

thank you so much for the replies i really appreciate that, by the way the notebook is currently in eco mode. with 100% fully charged battery only lasts 3hrs (reading doucments, playing videos and games). Il visit those links that you all have given, and i hope more links, infos and tricks are to come. thanks again!

DustSailor · 19 Nov 2011

The more intensive programs you use, the more power will be drained. Games and videos are examples of draining items. I recommend when you do those things that take a lot of power, to plug the computer into the wall so that it doesn't take a heavy toll on the battery (meaning it loses the charge more quickly). I know that sometimes you go on trips and the kids just want to play the computer or something, and its completely fine. Just know that after doing that that it can have a heavy effect on the battry so that you will have to recharge it more often than if you hadn't used those things on battery life