Using A Battery; Battery Performance - Dell Inspiron 8600 Owner's Manual

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.
44 Using Batteries and Mo d u le B ay De vi c es