laptop battery life

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I have recently acquired a used laptop – a Compaq Presario 2700. It has one main battery. I primarily use the laptop in situations where I can plug it into DC power. Should I remove the battery? Is it better to use the battery on a regular basis or just store it for when I “have” to use it?

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Leave the battery in the computer, and allow it to remain charged — after making sure that it’s not leaking or corroded.

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Like Liberty, I leave my battery in all the time but I’ve been told that with a Lithium battery, the heat build up in the laptop will shorten its life so you should leave it out in a cooler place if you’re not using it. The same article mentioned that Lithium batteries start to wear out the day they’re built and, within reason, charging and discharging have no effect on their life or efficiency.

By the same token, I consider any life in the battery of a used laptop a bonus. Very few places replace the battery when they refurbish it. If it’s off lease, you can bet the previous lessor didn’t worry about the battery. I got lucky this time and my IBM Thinkpad T40’s battery still runs almost three hours on a combination of action and whatever the state is called between active and hibernation.

Bruce

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One of the nice bonuses of a laptop is that when all the other power suddenly goes out, you haven’t lost any work and you can light the room with your screen. So at least during the storm season, I’d definitely leave it in. Any maybe unplug from AC power if lightning nears….

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