2 Operating on battery power
34
Checking the battery level

Using the Windows battery meter

The Windows battery meter indicates the present battery level. Simply rest your
cursor on the battery meter (or AC plug) icon on the taskbar to see the present
charge level of your battery .
Optimizing battery life
This section helps you get the most out of bat tery operation. Optimizing battery
life prolongs the charge/recharge cycle and improves recharge efficiency. Follow
these suggestions to optimize and maximize battery power:
• Purchase an extra batter y p ac k .
• Use Sleep Manager to reserve hard disk space for the Hibernation function.
See “Sleep Manager” on pa ge 66.
• Use the AC adapter whenever possib le so that the battery is reserved for on-
the-go computing.
• Keep the battery pac k in the computer po wered by the AC adap ter. The
constant trickle charg e maintains the batte ry level to eliminate the battery
self-discharge effect. The charge-in-use function also charges the battery
pack.
• Disable the parallel and ser i al ports if no d evice s ar e c onn ected to the se ports .
You can do this through the Setup Utility. See “Onboard Device
Configuration” on page 84.
• Eject the PC card fro m the card slot when it is not in use, sinc e the PC card
draws extra power. See “Ejecting a card” on page 22.
• Store the battery pack in a cool, dry place. The recommended storage
temperature for battery packs ranges from 10 to 30 degrees Celsius. The
higher the storage temperature, the faster the battery pack self-discharges.
• The batteries can be recharged abou t 400 times when used as directed.
Excessive recharging decreases battery life.
• Take care of your batter y pack and AC adapter. See “Care and ma intenance”
on page xx of the preface.