Dell 8600 manual Using a Battery, Battery Performance

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Using a Battery

CAUTION: Before performing any of the procedures listed below, read and follow the safety instructions located at the front of this document.

Battery Performance

NOTE: Batteries for portable computers are covered only during the initial one-year period of the limited warranty for your computer (see page 159).

Use a battery to power the computer when it is not connected to an electrical outlet. One battery is supplied as standard equipment in the battery bay.

Battery operating time varies depending on operating conditions. With average usage, you may expect from 3 to 4 hours from a single fully charged battery. You can install an optional second battery in the module bay to significantly increase operating time. For more information about the second battery, see page 51.

NOTE: The module bay in your computer supports a second battery. The Dell D/Bay does not support a second battery.

Operating time is significantly reduced when you perform operations including, but not limited to, the following:

NOTE: It is recommended that you connect your computer to an electrical outlet when writing to a CD.

•Using optical drives, especially DVD and CD-RW drives

•Using wireless communications devices, PC Cards, or USB devices

•Using high-brightness display settings, 3D screen savers, or other power-intensive programs such as 3D games

•Running the computer in maximum performance mode

You can check the battery charge before you insert the battery into the computer. You can also set power management options to alert you when the battery charge is low.

NOTE: You can conserve battery life by setting the Maximum Power Savings option for your graphics card. For more information, see the documentation that came with your graphics card.

CAUTION: Using an incompatible battery may increase the risk of fire or explosion. Replace the battery only with a compatible battery purchased from Dell. The lithium-ion battery is designed to work with your Dell™ computer. Do not use a battery from other computers with your computer.

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Using Batteries and Module Bay Devices