Dell Latitude XT Quick Reference Manual page 20

Check the Battery Health
NOTE:
You can check battery health in one of two ways: by using the charge gauge
on the battery as described below or by using the Battery Meter in Dell QuickSet.
For information about QuickSet, right-click the icon in the taskbar, and click Help.
To check the battery health using the charge gauge, press and hold the status
button on the battery charge gauge for at least 3 seconds. If no lights appear,
the battery is in good condition, and more than 80 percent of its original
charge capacity remains. Each light represents an incremental degradation. If
five lights appear, less than 60 percent of the charge capacity remains, and you
should consider replacing the battery. See "Using a Battery" on page 17 for
more information about the battery operating time.
Low-Battery Warning
NOTICE:
To avoid losing or corrupting data, save your work immediately after a
low-battery warning, then connect the computer to an electrical outlet. If the
battery runs completely out of power, hibernate mode begins automatically.
A pop-up window warns you when the battery charge is approximately
90 percent depleted. If two batteries are installed, the low-battery warning
means that the combined charge of both batteries is approximately
90 percent depleted. The computer enters hibernate mode when the battery
charge is at a critically low level.
You can change the settings for the battery alarms in QuickSet or the Power
Options Properties window. See "Configuring Power Management Settings"
in your User's Guide for information about accessing QuickSet or the Power
Options Properties window.
To manually enter hibernate mode in Windows Vista, click the Windows
Vista Start button
the Lock icon to open the Power Options Properties window, and then click
Hibernate.
To manually enter hibernate mode in Windows XP , you must first enable
Hibernate mode.
To enable Hibernate mode:
1 Click Start
Options.
2 Click the Hibernate tab.
20
Quick Reference Guide
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Control Panel
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Performance and Maintenance
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Power