I have 2.5 hours of laptop battery life, and still find myself frustrated when on the move or during power-cuts. Here are some tips you can use to maximize the time you can work on your laptop running on battery.
- Go to the Desktop –> Right Click –> Personalize –> Change Desktop Background –> Turn Off Windows Aero and change the theme to a simple one, preferably with a blank background.
- Go to: Windows Start Button –> Right Click on Computer –> Click on Advanced System Settings in the Left Sidebar –> Go to the Advanced Tab –> Click on Performance Settings –> Select Adjust for Best Performance
- Turn Off WiFi in case you don’t absolutely need it.
- Turn Off Bluetooth if you are not currently transferring data using Bluetooth.
- Turn Off USB Devices like External Hard Disks and Graphics card, External USB mice, Laptop Cooler etc.
- Shut Down Unwanted Programs/Applications like Folders, Antivirus Applications, Task Manager etc.
- In the notification area (usually on the right side) of the Taskbar, Click on the power button –>More Power Options –> Change Plan Settings –> Change Advanced Power Settings –>Modify all settings to save maximum power for the On-Battery state.
- In the notification area (usually on the right side) of the Taskbar, Click on the power button –> Adjust Screen Brightness, since the Display Monitor is what consumes the most power!
- Use Google Chrome Instead of Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to reduce CPU and RAM usage.
- Right-click on the desktop –> Screen Resolution –> Reduce Screen Resolution to the minimum setting with which you are comfortable.
Most of these tips are applicable for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 users as well as Mac and Linux users. Some features like Windows Aero however are specific to Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Please share your views about conserving laptop battery power. Feel free to point out anything I might have missed :)
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