There are three refurbished notebook battery types, each named for its component materials:
Nickel Cadmium batteries (NiCad battery) are hardly ever seen anymore. They have dismally low capacities (2000-3000 mAH) and contain heavy metals that harm the environment. Worst of all is the dreaded “memory effect”. When you recharge a Nickel Cadmium battery before it is completely drained, the longevity of the laptop battery is compromised. That is the memory effect.
Nickel Metal Hybrid batteries (NiMH battery) have twice the capacity of Nickel Metal Hybrid batteries (4000-6000 mAH) and are half as susceptible to the memory effect. But these too are becoming rare.
Lithium Ion batteries (Li-Ion battery) are today’s laptop battery standard. They have all the capacity of a Nickel Metal Hybrid battery, but zero memory effect and zero toxins. Bonus: Li-Ion notebook batteries weigh half as much as Nickel Metal Hybrid laptop batteries. In purchasing a notebook battery, the consumer has three options: used, refurbished, or new.
Used notebook batteries that are not refurbished will probably only last you 30 minutes to an hour before needing recharging…
Refurbished notebook batteries are available from most manufacturers and retailers of refurbished notebook computers. These laptop batteries are renewed, recharged, and tested. They are much better than plain old used batteries, but not quite as good as new. New notebook batteries last a good couple of years – 600-800 recharges – as long as they are properly cared for.
Extending Battery Power
Whenever you are using your laptop near a power source, use the A/C adaptor. However, sometimes you will be forced to use your laptop with no access to a wall outlet, and the battery will run low. Here are three things you can do to extend the remaining power in the battery:
First, if your laptop processor features a power-save mode, switch over to power-save mode. This will slow the laptop by up to 50%, doubling battery life for that time period.
Second, turn off extraneous energy-sucking elements. The major power vampires in your laptop are the hard drive, the CD and DVD drives, any networking devices, and any excessively bright screen settings.
Third, you can double overall battery capacity by installing a second battery. Your laptop must have a universal bay in order to do this. All you have to do is remove the CD-ROM or floppy drive and put a battery in its place.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com – expert Marcus Peterson
