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– When the battery icon in the Windows notification area shows a low percentage of battery power
remaining
– When the batteries have not been used for a long time
Checking the battery status
Move your pointer to the battery-status icon in the Windows notification area to check the battery status.
The battery-status icon displays the percentage of battery power remaining and how long you can use
your computer before you must charge the battery.
The rate at which you use battery power determines how long you can use the battery of your computer
between charges. Because of different user habits and needs, it is difficult to predict how long a battery
charge will last. There are two main factors:
• How much energy is stored in the battery when you begin to work.
• The way you use your computer. For example:
– How often you access the hard disk drive or solid-state drive.
– How bright you make the computer display.
– How often you use the wireless features.
Enabling the battery alarm on the Windows 7 operating system
For the Windows 7 operating system, you can program your computer so that when the battery power falls
below a certain level, three events occur: the alarm goes off, a message is displayed, and the LCD turns off.
To enable the battery alarm, do the following:
1. Start the Power Manager program.
2. Click the Global Power Settings tab.
3. For Low battery alarm or Critically low battery alarm, set the percentage of the power level and set
the action.
Note: If your computer enters sleep or hibernation mode when the battery is low, but the alarm message
has not yet been displayed, the message will be displayed when the computer resumes. To resume normal
operation, when the message is displayed, click OK.
Charging the batteries
It is recommended that you charge the battery or replace it with a charged battery when the battery power
remaining is low. For example:
• When you find that the percentage of the remaining power is low
• When the power alarm alerts you
If an ac outlet is convenient, plug the ac power adapter into the outlet, and then plug it into ac power
connector of the computer. Depending on the battery size and the physical environment, the battery will
be fully charged in about three to six hours. The battery-status indicator helps you identify that the battery
is charging, and also notifies you when the battery is fully charged.
Note: To maximize the life of the battery, the computer does not start recharging the battery if the remaining
power is greater than 95%.
Maximizing the battery life
To maximize the life of the battery, do the following:
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