Brand new W7 laptop but battery lasts less than hour!

Product FRED said:

Take it off the charger every once in a while. After a while (many weeks or months), the battery won't hold a charge. I'm curious, what laptop do you own?

Thanks Fred, It's an HP Compaq CQ61 - take a look at my first post; I have added more detail about the spec there. Fred, I will do as u suggest and let the battery die down eventually (is that what u mean?).

Everything else I am happy with about the laptop and there is no buzz at all when the screen is set to maximum brightness. That's why I'm reluctant to take it back if it isn't actually a problem if u see what i mean. Thanks again for all your help.

Product FRED said:

Well, not necessarily die down. Just use it off the charger every once in a while and plug it in when the battery's low. Also, you should turn off wireless when you're not using it and dim the screen. Turning off Aero saves a lot of battery too. There's a utility on lifehacker.com
that automatically disables and reenables it if you unplug or plug in your laptop.

I know it's a bit too late, but next time stay away from HP. I bought 2 laptops, I forgot which model, dv-something. There's an issue where the GPU essentially melts and the computer is useless. HP kept sending it back saying there was no problem, until the warranty ran out. This is still an ongoing issue with newer models and I'd highly recommend a Dell for your next laptop purchase.

First of all, thanks so much for all your help with the battery matter; yes, I am using wireless constantly and am using Aero also. I will do as you suggested regarding taking the laptop off the ac adapter and then plugging back in when battery is low. So, correct me if I am wrong, but u are essentially suggesting I use the laptop with the battery only and then reconnect to the mains when it is low?

Oh dear looks like I made an awful choice then. This is actually branded as Compaq but the bespoke software is indeed HP-Compaq as u correctly infer. Otherwise, I am actually happy with it, nice screen and lovely keyboard action. But probably made the wrong choice given your experiences. Oh well....thanks so much again for all your advice.

Product FRED said:

You can use it plugged in, just every once in a while, use it on battery power. And as long as your laptop works and you're happy, that's good. Just trust me when i say go Dell next time or if this one craps out. You won't regret it. :)

Thanks again Fred for the clarification . Much appreciated.